Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) existing law and policies regarding rainwater/watershed management

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Regional Growth Strategy
Regional Growth Strategy

The CVRD Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) sets out a general approach to infrastructure and development that can support rainwater management at the watershed scale. The RGS also acknowledges, implicitly, that there may be limits to the ability of the region and its natural systems to accommodate growth:

"Infrastructure extensions should be guided by an understanding of where and how growth should occur, considering natural capacity, environmental impact, costs and efficiency, and to resolve health risk implications from failing onsite systems."

In addition, the CVRD Regional Growth Strategy contains a number of provisions that specifically support aspects of integrated watershed management within the Regional District: Objectives 2-A, 3C-2, 3C-7, 5B-1, 5B-4, 5C-1,5C-2, 5C-3, 5C-4 and 6A-2

Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy
Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy

The CVRD Regional Sustainability Strategy contains several goals and objectives that are supportive of integrated watershed management such as Objective 2.1.3, Goal 3.7, and Objective 3.7.1

While these goals and objectives do not have legal force, they represent support for integrated watershed management framed in a broader sustainability context, and may provide a link to other sustainability initiatives undertaken in the CVRD, by the regional district or by member municipalities.

Rural Comox Valley Official Community Plan
Rural Comox Valley Official Community Plan

The official Community Plan (OCP) Bylaw No. 337 policies generally appear to support an integrated approach to managing rainwater from the site level to the watershed level.

For example: Regional Objective and Policies

Natural Environment Objectives

"7. To implement rainwater management practices and policies that preserve and restore the natural water balance during development and redevelopment in order to maintain and improve watershed health and protect downstream properties and infrastructure."

Within the Regional Objectives and Policies section there are 9 policies specifically under the Natural Environment - watershed management/protection policy. Check them out.

Electoral Area Plans
Electoral Area Plans

An example of relevant local area plan is the development of the Liquid Waste Management Plan (LWMP) for the Union Bay Improvement District area, and Royston, which addresses water quality, water conservation and on-site rainwater management for the proposed wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).

At its May 29, 2012 board meeting, the CVRD adopted the following recommendations which directly support water conservation and help minimize wastewater flows to the new south regional WWTP.

*Waste water user rates for a new south regional sewer treatment service be linked to water use within the participating communities.

*Users of a new south regional wastewater treatment plant utilize “high efficiency” toilets.

Development Permit Areas and Applications

CVRD has designated several development permit areas (DPAs) that have provisions relevant to integrated watershed management. However, the DPAs themselves only cover a small fraction of the electoral areas of CVRD, meaning that their impact at the watershed scale is limited.

DPAs are a supple tool for rainwater management because they can combine broad prescriptions for land use within an area with site specific requirements for a given development. DPAs most relevant for rainwater management are those for protection of the natural environment, management of natural hazards and water conservation CVRD DPAs with relevant requirements include:

  •  DPA 1 - aquatic environmentally sensitive areas.;
  •      DPA 2 - steep slopes and;
  •  DPA 3 - Commercial and industrial.

Zoning

There are several provisions of the CVRD zoning bylaw that are relevant to rainwater management:

  • In cases where dedication of lands for parks is required, stormwater management must be adequate "to minimize additional storm water runoff from one lot to another".
  • Where run-off associated with development would exceed "natural drainage limitation" there is a requirement to construct catch basins, storm sewers and detention ponds to mitigate this effect.
  • Land developed must be designed to minimize disruption of the natural drainage pattern and to protect or mitigate impacts upon fish habitat.
  • Multi-residential developments in certain zones must have on-site storm water detention.
  • The CVRD Water Supply and Resource Area limits density and lot coverage within that zone, with the aim of protecting groundwater. This measure could also be considered a component of an integrated watershed management approach, because it promotes onsite rainwater infiltration.