Based on the principles of “One Water,” the City of Vancouver began the development of a comprehensive long-range plan for sewage and rainwater management in 2020. This initiative, now referred to as the “Healthy Waters Plan”, is an integrated planning effort to address pollution from sewer overflows and urban runoff, adapt to the impacts of aging infrastructure, population growth and climate change, including extreme weather events, sea level rise and urban heat and drought. Guiding principles for this work include reconciliation, considering the City of Vancouver’s UNDRIP Strategy, as well as equity, collaboration, stewardship, and resilience.
The plan will define the strategic roadmap for billions of dollars of infrastructure investments, as well as operating programs, policies, and regulations required to protect people and the environment. It will also define the optimal approach for integrating traditional grey infrastructure with green infrastructure and nature-based solutions. Affordability is a critical challenge, largely driven by aging infrastructure, regional sewage treatment costs and the need to adapt to an uncertain climate future. Development of this plan involves significant investments in new analytical tools, as well as silo-cutting collaboration across regional government, First Nations, senior government, and community groups.
This presentation will cover the collaborative process for plan development and two key innovative tools developed for the plan: the City’s Mass Balance Model and the Human Health and Ecological Comparative Risk Evaluation Framework that support decision-making and prioritization of infrastructure implementation. These tools allow for the conceptualization of the impacts of management decisions on the water quality in Burrard Inlet and the Fraser River.