As part of our green rainwater infrastructure planning process, we have developed the Rain City Strategy. The strategy reimagines and transforms how we manage rainwater with the goals of improving water quality, resilience, and livability through creating healthy urban ecosystems.
The strategy will implement sustainable rainwater management across the city with a goal of using rainwater as a resource rather than a waste product.
Green rainwater infrastructure has been proven to be a significant cost-saving investment.
Target
Capture and clean 90% of rainwater in the city
Performance standard
Capture and clean rainwater from a minimum of 48 mm per day.
Vancouver rainfall
The Rain City Strategy will bring us into compliance with Metro Vancouver and Ministry of Environment requirements, and will guide how we manage and use rainwater in Vancouver.
Our goal is to capture and treat 90% of the rainwater that falls in Vancouver using a combination of green rainwater infrastructure and conventional pipe systems.
Documents
Rain City Strategy PDF file (21 MB)
Strategies
- Rain City Strategy PDF file (21 MB)
- IRMP report card PDF file (80 KB)
- GRI typologies PDF file (17 MB)
- Watershed characterization PDF file (16 MB)
- Engagement summary PDF file (6 MB)
- Transformative directions and action plans PDF file (805 KB)
Background documents
Reports
- Rainwater Management Plan and Green Infrastructure Strategy Council report PDF file (10 MB)
- Green Infrastructure Performance Monitoring report PDF file (4.2 MB)
Management plans
- Metro Vancouver Integrated Liquid Waste and Resource Management Plan External website, opens in new tab
- Citywide Integrated Rainwater Management Plan
- Musqueam Integrated Stormwater Management Plan
Policies
- Green Buildings Policy for Rezonings PDF file (319 KB)
- Rezoning Policy for Sustainable Large Developments PDF file (325 KB)
- Rainwater Management Bulletin PDF file (902 KB)
- Groundwater Management Bulletin PDF file (751 KB)
Green Infrastructure typical details and templates
The files below were developed to be revised and customized for individual projects by design professionals. The customized content should be included on construction drawings. For questions related to the content or use of these files, contact green.infrastructure@vancouver.ca.
Download DWG files as compressed .zip folders
- General information Zip file (1.6 MB) (added September 22, 2022)
- Inlets and outlets Zip file (1.7 MB) (added September 22, 2022)
- GI - General components Zip file (3 MB) (added September 22, 2022)
- Bioretention Zip file (2.7 MB) (added September 22, 2022)
- Rainwater tree trench Zip file (2 MB) (added September 22, 2022)
- Infiltration systems Zip file (1.5 MB) (added September 22, 2022)
- Bioswales Zip file (1.8 MB) (added September 22, 2022)