The City of Richmond has received the B.C. Environmental Managers Association 2019 Technological Innovation award for the implementation of a simplified non-stormwater discharge management program that safeguards the city’s sewers and strengthens environmental protection.
Richmond is the first municipality in the Lower Mainland to regulate the quality of non-storm discharge water into its sewer system and watercourses using field-measurable parameters including temperature, pH, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen. The new process streamlines and enhances strong environmental protections already in place for Richmond’s watercourses and the Fraser River. It also reduces unnecessary treatment costs and increases safeguards to the city’s storm sewer system from the introduction of contaminants.
“This important Technological Innovation award further recognizes Richmond’s commitment to being an innovative and sustainable community,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “Richmond’s open watercourses are an integral part of the City’s Ecological Network and this innovative process not only helps protect the City’s open drainage network from harmful pollutants, but also provides a cost recovery mechanism that reflects the City’s sustainable practices.”
The B.C. Environmental Managers Association (EMA) awards province-wide members annually who have made outstanding achievements in the field of environmental management. The Technological Innovation award was one of five awards presented to recipients at the 2019 EMA Gala and it recognizes the role of applying new technologies to address the wide range of environmental challenges faced by Environmental Managers across British Columbia.
The award was formally presented to Council on July 22, 2019.
More information about the city’s sewer and drainage infrastructure is available here.
Header image credit: James Wheeler.
