Assessing Challenges and Opportunities Associated with obtaining mandatory Home Warranty for Developments that Incorporate Resilient Roofs and/or Rainwater Harvesting Prepared By: Soraya Sarshar, Greenest City Scholar, 2020 Prepared For: Torben Ruddock, Senior Rainwater Engineer, City of Vancouver August 2020 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author would like to acknowledge that this research took place on the PROJECT OVERVIEW.................................................................................. 6 unceded homelands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations. The author would like to thank Torben Ruddock from the City of Vancouver for his mentorship and support throughout this project. BACKGROUND............................................................................................. 8 Additionally, the author would like to thank all the interview participants for their time and contribution to this research. This report would have not been possible without them. STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS.....................................................................18 Cover Photo: Green Roof Convention Center, City of Vancouver. CASE STUDIES............................................................................................ 23 RECCOMENDATIONS.................................................................................. 31 CONCLUSION............................................................................................... 37 REFERENCES............................................................................................... 39 APPENDIX..................................................................................................... 44 2 3 ACRONYMS BCFSA - British Columbia Financial Service Authority CSO - Combined Sewer Outflow CoV - City of Vancouver GCAP - Greenest City Action Plan GRI - Green Rainwater Infrastructure HPO - Homeowner Protection Office MURB - Multi-Unit Residential Building RCABC - Roofing Contractors Association of British Columbia RCS - Rain City Strategy RWH - Rainwater Harvesting Image: Scandinavian Green Roof Inst. via Flickr 4 https://www.flickr.com/photos/i-sustain/4255371678/ 5 PROJECT OVERVIEW RESEARCH OBJECTIVES RESEARCH LIMITATIONS In November 2019, the City of Vancouver adopted the Rain City Strategy. The Rain City Strat- This research assesses the challenges This report seeks to investigate and inform egy is a municipal policy document that provides the City with a long-term outlook for rainwater and opportunities associated with obtaining CoV officials, stakeholders and the general management practices and services in the face of climate change. The implementation of green mandatory home warranty for new multi-unit public on the barriers, challenges and op- rainwater infrastructures (GRIs), such as resilient roofs and rainwater harvesting systems are residential building (MURB) developments portunities regarding urban green rainwater seen as vital strategies for enhancing Vancouver’s climate resilience and encouraging future that incorporate the following two forms of infrastructure implementation. Limitations to GRI: resilient roofs and/or rainwater harvest- this research include the following: sustainable water management practices. ing in Vancouver. • The COVID-19 public health pandemic There have been several anticipated barriers involved in implementing the Rain City Strategy More specifically, this report seeks to: which prohibited in-person interviews and and GRIs across the City. One identified roadblock is obtaining the mandatory home warranty research done on-site at CoV offices due insurance for new homes that incorporate resilient roofs and/or rainwater harvesting in the Prov- • Identify the perceived and actual barriers to social distancing measures and at- ince of British Columbia. This report aims to assess the barriers and challenges at hand and and challenges of implementing resilient home quarantining. provide recommendations for the City to consider to overcome them. roofs and/or rainwater harvesting while obtaining the mandatory home warranty • The four-month time frame which limited insurance the amount of stakeholders interviewed. This report represents only a sample • Investigate potential and realized strat- of the professionals involved in green egies to overcome these barriers and rainwater infrastructure implementation in challenges British Columbia. • Propose a list of recommendations and • Stakeholder diversity. This research opportunities to overcome these barriers was done using the snowball sampling and challenges to the City of Vancouver technique, where each interviewee helps identify other interviewees. This research lacks the perspective of certain stakeholders, namely ones in the private sector, as it was initiated by ones in the public sector. resilient roof METHODOLOGY RESEARCH OBJECTIVES In order to fulfill the objectives stated above, This research seeks to build upon existing this research applied the following methodol- work the CoV has advanced to address ogies: climate change, rainwater management and green rainwater infrastructure implementa- 1. Case Studies - tion. This report is in direct alignment with rainwater harvesting system Highlighting successful MURB develop- the following CoV strategy ments that have incorporated resilient documents: roofs and/or rainwater harvesting in Vancouver - Rain City Strategy (2019) 2. Stakeholder Interviews - - Resilient Vancouver Strategy (2019) Illustration of MURB incorporating a resilient roof and a rainwater harvesting system. Interviewing of key stakeholders involved in the process of green rainwater infra- - Climate Change Adaptation Strategy structure implementation in British Update: Core Actions (2018) Columbia - Vancouver Citywide Integrated Rainwater Management Plan (2016) - Greenest City Action Plan (2015) 6 7 CONTEXT According to global climate projection mod- diversity, improving air quality and augment- els by Metro Vancouver, the Lower Mainland ing recreational spaces and opportunities. is predicted to receive a 5-12% increase in precipitation during extreme rain events The three motions were furthered supported induced by climate change by 2050. Fur- by the drafts of the Rain City Strategy policy thermore, studies done by the BC Ministry of document which was released in November Environment and Climate Change indicate 2019. The Rain City Strategy harmonizes that extreme precipitation events in areas the intentions of the City with regards to surrounding Vancouver are to become more blue-green systems by summarizing the pre- likely by 2050, leading to severe conse- cipitation consequences of climate change, quences, such as loss of life, loss of eco- the adoption of the ‘One Water’ approach, nomic productivity, and loss of infrastructure several pilot projects the City has embarked services that will cause major disruption to upon, and action programs the City wishes daily life. In order to combat these unprec- to pursue such as capturing and cleaning edented rainfall projections and ensure the a minimum of 90% of Vancouver’s average safety and well-being of the community, annual rainfall volume (City of Vancouver, the City of Vancouver has adopted several policies to address urban rainwater manage- ment. In October 2019, the City of Vancouver Council approved three motions related to urban rainwater management and blue- green urban systems; the Watershed Re- vival, the Greenways Plan and the False Creek to the Fraser River Blueway, deeming them necessary components of urbn cli- mate change adaptation (City of Vancouver, 2019e). All three motions relate to an overall vision the City has adopted, entitled the ‘One Water’ approach. The ‘One Water’ approach Natural and Urban Water Cycles. demands that urban development consider (Thomson, 2019, Rain City Strategy) the entire water cycle, from drinking water, to wastewater, to rainwater, surface water and groundwater as one entity (City of Vancou- ver, 2019d). Methods that encompass the ‘One Water’ approach include the imple- mentation of green rainwater infrastructure, low-impact development and green network planning. These methods represent strate- gies used in blue-green systems, which by definition help the urban landscape to man- age water and land in a way that is inspired by nature and designed to replicate natural function as well as provide ecosystem ser- vices (City of Vancouver, 2019e). Blue-green systems provide numerous benefits such as improving water utility system performance, increasing climate resilience, enhancing bio- CoV Rain City Strategy perfomance target visual. BACKGROUND (Rain City Stategy, 2019) 8 9 RAIN CITY STRATEGY GREEN RAINWATER RESILIENT ROOFS INFRASTRUCTURE (GRI) In November of 2019, the City of Vancou- the City may be able to mitigate the adverse Resilient roofs are roofs that have been ver adopted the Rain City Strategy (RSC). effects of heavy rainfall and separate storm- designed to manage rainwater, as well as The RCS is a municipal strategy report that water from wastewater. Green Rainwater Infrastructure (GRI) is an support vegetation. The term ‘resilient roofs’ advocates for the transition of becoming umbrella term that encompases many rain- encompases green roofs (both extensive a water sensitive city to help communities The RCS hopes to achieve this using green water management approaches and tools and intensive), blue roofs, blue-green roofs and ecosystems thrive in the face of cli- rainwater infrastructure (GRI) tools and that are used to protect, restore