For me, poetry flows out in verse and melody. I’m not the most amazing musician but the words matter to me. :) Enjoy!
Saturday, October 31, 2020
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Vancouver’s Dropping Water Table
"So, does your work involve the Fraser Watershed around here?"
I ask her because I'm interested. I know that the Fraser Valley is extremely fertile farmland, with agricultural resources shrinking because of development. I also once heard a story about Vancouver's vanished rivers: all diverted and paved over as the city grew.
I know the Fraser river is essential. I hear about the conservation efforts around this mighty water source and the dwindling salmon stocks. I also feel the effects of longer, dryer summers and tight water restrictions. I wonder if Christy has the answers.
She laughs. Her eyes peek over her cloth mask. They are steely-grey, kind, and long-suffering. Her softness, however, is built around an iron core.
"Oh no," she says, "we work outside of the Fraser Basin."
"So, what area do you work in?"
"Just one."
"One what?"
"One river."
My friend Christy Juteau is a biologist working with A Rocha Canada, an environmental stewardship organization with a spectacular conservation center here in the lower mainland. Christy spends her days studying and fighting to restore the endangered waters of the Little Campbell River.
I try to wrap my mind around her answer. There must be hundreds of rivers in BC. Christy is trying to save one.
Like most waterways near urbanization and agricultural land development, the Little Campbell River has experienced flooding, loss of wetlands and forest habitat, and the depletion of underground water resources. This watercourse winds through Langley, South Surrey, White Rock and empties into Semiahmoo bay. It services a floodplain, an estuary and several wetlands.
Now, here again, is the map of the Little Campbell River watershed, BC, Canada.
This is the area that my friend Christy Juteau studies. Much of spreads across an area that we in the lower mainland would consider relatively low development. It is full of giant rolling parcels of land for private and agricultural use. In 2019 Christy and her team examined and measured the land using aerial imagery research on land use. They concluded that this pastoral swath of land was at about 18% impervious cover.
The impervious surface of high-density metropolitan areas like greater Vancouver is observably much higher. I couldn't find any exact numbers, but I think it's telling that Greater Vancouver recommends that a single-family lot for redevelopment should have no more than 70% impervious area. It's also only a recommendation, and it doesn't include commercial, high-density, and existing developments where impervious cover can be as high as 90-100%
Here are some pictures of Vancouver's lost streams: waterways that are buried or no longer exist at all.
I ask her because I'm interested. I know that the Fraser Valley is extremely fertile farmland, with agricultural resources shrinking because of development. I also once heard a story about Vancouver's vanished rivers: all diverted and paved over as the city grew.
I know the Fraser river is essential. I hear about the conservation efforts around this mighty water source and the dwindling salmon stocks. I also feel the effects of longer, dryer summers and tight water restrictions. I wonder if Christy has the answers.
She laughs. Her eyes peek over her cloth mask. They are steely-grey, kind, and long-suffering. Her softness, however, is built around an iron core.
"Oh no," she says, "we work outside of the Fraser Basin."
"So, what area do you work in?"
"Just one."
"One what?"
"One river."
My friend Christy Juteau is a biologist working with A Rocha Canada, an environmental stewardship organization with a spectacular conservation center here in the lower mainland. Christy spends her days studying and fighting to restore the endangered waters of the Little Campbell River.
I try to wrap my mind around her answer. There must be hundreds of rivers in BC. Christy is trying to save one.
Like most waterways near urbanization and agricultural land development, the Little Campbell River has experienced flooding, loss of wetlands and forest habitat, and the depletion of underground water resources. This watercourse winds through Langley, South Surrey, White Rock and empties into Semiahmoo bay. It services a floodplain, an estuary and several wetlands.
The problem seems too big, and how much does the fate of a stream really matter? Despite my best intentions, a small part of my brain glazes over as Christy talks. I live in the suburbs. I care about nature and habitat loss, but it also feels like an "out there" problem. I often think of nature as something that I "go out to."
But I'm wrong. No one can exist outside of an environmental system, even a seemingly invisible one. I know this because of the long hot summers, the smoke in the sky when the forests burn, and the rocket-like increase of insurance premiums related to flooding.
Our human-made solutions for the movement of resources and waste are woefully flawed, and we are feeling the harm. With our future wellbeing in the balance, it's time we start to think of natural ecosystems as something to be built into our communities versus being built out of them.
But I'm wrong. No one can exist outside of an environmental system, even a seemingly invisible one. I know this because of the long hot summers, the smoke in the sky when the forests burn, and the rocket-like increase of insurance premiums related to flooding.
Our human-made solutions for the movement of resources and waste are woefully flawed, and we are feeling the harm. With our future wellbeing in the balance, it's time we start to think of natural ecosystems as something to be built into our communities versus being built out of them.
An example of this is our stormwater infrastructure. You know, the little sewer grate on the side of the road where the water flushes away? Sometimes there's a yellow fish painted next to it to let you know that it empties into a spawning stream. When the rain comes, stormwater drains save our communities from flooding by flushing massive amounts of rainwater and contaminants into our rivers and out to sea.
We need this stormwater infrastructure, also called 'grey infrastructure,' because of the thousands of kilometres of concrete that stop the earth from naturally absorbing the water. Before extensive human development, the ground absorbed and filtered the rain we get every year and then emptied its waters into the underground streams and aquifers. Now, the rain comes smashing down upon an impervious tabletop of roads, roofs and parking lots. In a race to prevent floods, we can't flush it away fast enough. The rainwater mixes with toxic pollutants from dog waste to the chemicals in rubber tires. It is then dumped directly into groundwater-fed streams, causing them to burst their banks and depositing piles of polluted muck that kills off the fish before they have a chance to spawn.
We need this stormwater infrastructure, also called 'grey infrastructure,' because of the thousands of kilometres of concrete that stop the earth from naturally absorbing the water. Before extensive human development, the ground absorbed and filtered the rain we get every year and then emptied its waters into the underground streams and aquifers. Now, the rain comes smashing down upon an impervious tabletop of roads, roofs and parking lots. In a race to prevent floods, we can't flush it away fast enough. The rainwater mixes with toxic pollutants from dog waste to the chemicals in rubber tires. It is then dumped directly into groundwater-fed streams, causing them to burst their banks and depositing piles of polluted muck that kills off the fish before they have a chance to spawn.
At least… that's what happens in the rainy seasons. Because we flush our winter rain out to the ocean, there is less water to feed BC's underground water sources. Sections of streams vanish completely every summer, stranding fish and further destroying animal habitats. Even with global warming and longer, hotter summers, there shouldn't be a need for painful water restrictions. We should have more than enough stored in the natural underground aquifers beneath our feet. But we don't. We are flushing our own water resources literally down the drain.
The connection is surprisingly straightforward. As shown in the graph below, when more than 10% of our land is covered in impervious surfaces (compacted soil, roads, roofs, sidewalks, etc.) it is destructive to our local streams and wetlands.
The connection is surprisingly straightforward. As shown in the graph below, when more than 10% of our land is covered in impervious surfaces (compacted soil, roads, roofs, sidewalks, etc.) it is destructive to our local streams and wetlands.
Once the amount of impervious surface cover rises above 25%, stream banks collapse, and the water quality kills only but the hardiest of species. Sources of clean drinking water are destroyed.
This figure from the University of Maryland shows us just what stream degradation looks like, the species are different than here in BC, but the damage is the same:
This figure from the University of Maryland shows us just what stream degradation looks like, the species are different than here in BC, but the damage is the same:
Now, here again, is the map of the Little Campbell River watershed, BC, Canada.
This is the area that my friend Christy Juteau studies. Much of spreads across an area that we in the lower mainland would consider relatively low development. It is full of giant rolling parcels of land for private and agricultural use. In 2019 Christy and her team examined and measured the land using aerial imagery research on land use. They concluded that this pastoral swath of land was at about 18% impervious cover.
The impervious surface of high-density metropolitan areas like greater Vancouver is observably much higher. I couldn't find any exact numbers, but I think it's telling that Greater Vancouver recommends that a single-family lot for redevelopment should have no more than 70% impervious area. It's also only a recommendation, and it doesn't include commercial, high-density, and existing developments where impervious cover can be as high as 90-100%
Here are some pictures of Vancouver's lost streams: waterways that are buried or no longer exist at all.
James, Herbert and Hugh Matthews in a canoe on the south shore of False Creek c. 1902
Christy's job revolves around the restoration of her river. Still, she's not going to get far as long as toxic flooding in the winter and depleting underground water resources choke the river. To save the Little Campbell River, the ecosystem it supports, and our own freshwater resources, we need to change.
The good news? Change is possible and begins at a municipal level. Like Christy, look to the ground beneath your feet. Feel the earth and realize your dependence and connection to it. When we develop the land beneath us without considering the natural systems we are displacing, we borrow time from our future livelihoods.
And happily, while the problem is complex, there are many innovative solutions available. Rain gardens are one of them.
And happily, while the problem is complex, there are many innovative solutions available. Rain gardens are one of them.
Volunteers Oliver Xie and Carolynne Robertson get digging during a demonstration of the North Shore Rain Garden Project held at Capilano Mall Saturday. photo Ben Bengtson, North Shore News
Rain gardens are an example of "green" stormwater management. Some other ideas include increased tree cover, downspout disconnection, rainwater harvesting, grassed swales, green roofs, and bio-retention areas. This type of infrastructure allows our earth to reclaim and filter the deluge of rain that falls here in the winter. It gives BC's underground water resources a chance to replenish and feeds our waterways in a way that protects the food chain.
While it is encouraging to see this type of infrastructure beginning to gain some attention, most of it is installed by volunteers through "demonstration" projects. If we are going to build our cities for the future, this type of rainwater management needs to become the norm and not the exception. At the moment, the cost is considered prohibitive and adds thousands of dollars to any new development project. These types of systems also require a budget for regular maintenance. However, just as it is currently cheaper to produce virgin plastic products than using recycled materials, flushing our water away from cities destroys wildlife habitats and borrows directly from our future.
How can you help? Write to your city council and let them know that the use of green infrastructure matters to you! Tell your favourite voted representative that you do not want further development without consideration for responsible resource management. If you happen to live in the Township of Langley as I do, engage with the city's climate action plan by adding your voice to this survey:
https://www.tol.ca/at-your-service/sustainability/climate-action/
Let's bring nature back into the city.
https://www.tol.ca/at-your-service/sustainability/climate-action/
Let's bring nature back into the city.
A special thanks to A Rocha Canada for their conservation work and tireless commitment to environmental restoration.
References:
https://arocha.ca/where-we-work/brooksdale/little-campbell-river/
https://www.watercanada.net/feature/sustainable-stormwater-management/
http://www.metrovancouver.org/services/liquid-waste/LiquidWastePublications/StormwaterSourceControlDesignGuidelines2012StormwaterSourceControlDesignGuidelines2012.pdf
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.627.5788&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Impervious Surfaces in French Creek Rick Guthrie, M.Sc., P.Geo., Regional Geomorphologist And John Deniseger, R.P.Bio., Environmental Impact Biologist Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection Vancouver Island British Columbia 2001
Restoring Streams/ University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
https://www.umces.edu/research-highlights/restoring-streams
https://dnr.maryland.gov/streams/Pages/streamhealth/How-Impervious-Surface-Impacts-Stream-Health.aspx
Region‐wide Baseline for On‐site Stormwater Management February 2017 For use on Single‐lot Residential Development in the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District.
file:///C:/Users/chari/AppData/Local/Packages/microsoft.windowscommunicationsapps_8wekyb3d8bbwe/LocalState/Files/S0/1866/Attachments/Region-wideBaselineOnsiteStormwaterManagement-Feb2017[3641].pdf
https://www.nsnews.com/community/north-shore-rain-garden-project-demonstrates-natural-technology-1.23953643
https://fraserstreetstories.ca/lost-streams-of-vancouver/
https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/green-infrastructure.aspx
https://www.tol.ca/at-your-service/sustainability/climate-action/
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