History and context

In 1993, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Energy and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources released three policy documents that focused on integrating water resources management and urban planning:

• Water Management on a Watershed Basis: Implementing an Ecosystems Approach;
• Subwatershed Planning; and
• Integrating Water Management Objectives into Municipal Planning Documents.

These documents heralded a new approach to water management in Ontario. They emphasized the need for an increased focus on protecting the natural environment and the need to expand stormwater management practices to pay more attention to water quality and environmental concerns, in addition to addressing traditional water quantity concerns.

In 1994, the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy (OMOEE) released two practitioners’ guides to stormwater management planning:

• Stormwater Quality Best Management Practices; and
• Stormwater Management Practices Planning and Design (SMPPD) Manual.

The OMOEE SMPPD manual was intended to introduce practitioners to a broad range of stormwater management facilities that were designed to not only offset the effects of hydrologic changes of urban development on streams and rivers, but also address water quality and erosion impacts. The SMPPD manual also provided detailed guidance on how to design and build multi-purpose facilities and included sections on operations and maintenance, as well as environmental monitoring requirements.

In 2003, OMOE released a new Stormwater Management Planning and Design Manual, which significantly updated and expanded on the 1994 version. The 2003 manual:

• provided an overview of the impacts of urbanization on the hydrologic cycle and stream ecosystems;
• addressed the evolution of the watershed planning process and implications for the design process;
• incorporated water quantity, erosion control, water quality protection, and water balance principles into the selection and design of stormwater management practices (SWMPs);
• documented the performance of SWMPs that have been monitored;
• incorporated design considerations for SWMPs in cold climates;
• provided information on new “state of the art” SWMPs;
• addressed infill projects;
• updated operations and maintenance requirements;
• provided design examples for SWMPs;
• updated material related to planting strategies and the function of plant materials in SWMP design;
• provided examples of retrofitting SWMPs; and
• outlined integrated planning for stormwater management.

Refers to the conditions in which an organism lives and survives or the conditions in which an organism resides. These conditions can be described as aspects of a “physical”, “social” or an “economic” environment, depending on the perspective perceived by the observer.

Refers to the conditions in which an organism lives and survives or the conditions in which an organism resides. These conditions can be described as aspects of a “physical”, “social” or an “economic” environment, depending on the perspective perceived by the observer.

State of the art methods or techniques used to manage the quantity and improve the quality of wet weather flow. BMPs include Source, Conveyance and End-Of-Pipe Controls.

The changing of land cover and land uses from rural to urban; the growth of urban settlements.

The circulation of water from the atmosphere to the earth and back, through precipitation, runoff, infiltration, groundwater flow and evapotranspiration.

Includes the protection of soil from dislocation by water, wind or other agents.

The accounting of inflow and outflow of water in a system according to the components of the hydrologic cycle.