WCEL > Issues > Urban Growth and Development > Smart Bylaws Guide > Part 2 > Integrated Stormwater Management > Water Balance Model

Smart Bylaws Guide – Water Balance Model

An intergovernmental partnership developed a Water Balance Model web-based program to assist municipalities to model water conveyance and drainage.  It is an interactive tool that replicates how impervious surfaces, absorbent landscaping, infiltration facilities, green roofs and rainwater re-use affects water behaviour under different development circumstances.

The Water Balance Model assists local governments to monitor water balance volumes at the site level to determine how best to control flows at the source to minimize runoff volumes.  This is in contrast to a traditional ‘peak flow’ approach.  The Model provides an interactive means for local governments to integrate land-use planning with stormwater management and evaluate the potential for developing communities that function hydrologically like naturally forested or vegetated systems.

Water Balance Model