Winnipeg is very fortunate that it is not facing a foreseeable critical water supply shortage unlike many more densely populated areas in the world. So why should we worry about the sustainability of our water supply?

Large Cistern Water Harvesting System

(credit USEPA Green Infrastructure)

Stormwater retention basins (SRBs) have been used in the City of Winnipeg since the early 1960s. The city and their land developers were in fact some of the earliest adopters of this technology. Early acceptance was based primarily on necessity as opposed aesthetics although it was recognized that retention basins did add to the visual appeal. The main reason why retention basins proliferated was because the land adjacent to our rivers and streams, which had previously afforded a cheap and easy drainage outlet, had by the 1960s, been exhausted. Our flat prairie landscape also made it very expensive to extend these land drainage systems further afield using conventional land drainage pipes.

Constructed Wetland Royalwood Subdivision Winnipeg (credit Ladco Co. Ltd.)

Would you be willing to accept "source controls" on your property knowing that you would be required to maintain them in the same way that you are required to maintain the lawn in front of your lot?

What kind of incentives would drive or encourage you and the people you know to include ‘source controls’ on your property?

The old saying “Form over Function” does not need to apply when talking about storm water management. In our previous blog we talked about green roofs and blue roofs, which are examples of source controls used in storm water management. Source controls are usually small installations dispersed throughout the watershed. They are known by various terms including “green infrastructure”, “low impact development (LID)”, “best management practices (BMPs)” and “water sensitive urban design (WSUD)”. Some of these terms refer to other technologies as well, but they all include source control stormwater management within their mix.

Vegetated Swale (credit USEPA Green Infrastructure)

For many, the words ‘urban infrastructure’ brings to mind our constructed urban environment; our roads, sidewalks, bridges, buildings, etc. In this case, the possibility of reducing our environmental impact through choices such as walking, cycling and using public transit are readily associated with ‘going green’, but what about our less tangible infrastructure, the often underground services that supply our drinking water, convey our wastewater, and manage urban stormwater runoff?

           Green Roofs

(credit USEPA Green Infrastructure)