Green rainwater infrastructure design resources

Find technical resources related to the design and construction of green infrastructure on private property, such as design guidance and typical drawings, and system templates. This page may be updated frequently as new guidance documents are developed.

Design

Design guidance
- Green infrastructure design manual (378 KB) (added January 12, 2024)
Typical drawings and system templates
Download PDF files
- 1.0 General information (348 KB) (added March 19, 2026)
- 2.0 Inlets and outlets (827 KB) (added March 19, 2026)
- 3.0 GI Components (1.3 MB) (added March 19, 2026)
- 4.0 Bioretention (1.6 MB) (added March 19, 2026)
- 5.0 Rainwater tree trenches (2.3 MB) (added March 19, 2026)
- 6.0 Infiltration systems (1.5 MB) (added March 19, 2026)
- 7.0 Bioswales (1.5 MB) (added March 19, 2026)
- All green infrastructure standard drawings (6.1 MB) (added March 19, 2026)
Download CAD files as compressed .zip folders
- 2.0 Inlets and outlets (1.5 MB) (added March 19, 2026)
- 3.0 GI Components (2.1 MB) (added March 19, 2026)
- 4.0 Bioretention (2.3 MB) (added March 19, 2026)
- 5.0 Rainwater tree trenches (2.1 MB) (added March 19, 2026)
- 6.0 Infiltration systems (1 MB) (added March 19, 2026)
- 7.0 Bioswales (1.2 MB) (added March 19, 2026)
Construction specifications
The specifications provided below have been produced by the GRI Branch as templates to assist in developing project specific construction specifications. These specifications have not been adopted by the City of Vancouver and are not endorsed by the MMCD.

These documents must be edited in Microsoft Word using ‘track changes’ to suit project specific conditions and needs. They must be submitted along with other relevant project documents.
Planting guidelines
- Planting strategies (2.2 MB) (added May 1, 2025)
- Green infrastructure approved plant list (24 KB) (added March 14, 2024)
- Green rainwater infrastructure planting guidelines (16.7 MB) (added February 18, 2025)

Archived drawings

PDF files added February 1, 2025
Download PDF files
- 1.0 General information (427 KB) (added February 1, 2025)
- 2.0 Inlets and outlets (1 MB) (added February 1, 2025)
- 3.0 GI Components (1.3 MB) (added February 1, 2025)
- 4.0 Bioretention (1.7 MB) (added February 1, 2025)
- 5.0 Rainwater tree trenches (2.6 MB) (added February 1, 2025)
- 6.0 Infiltration systems (1.8 MB) (added February 1, 2025)
- 7.0 Bioswales (1.5 MB) (added February 1, 2025)
- 8.0 Permeable pavements (1 MB) (added February 1, 2025)
- All green infrastructure standard drawings (7.8 MB) (added February 1, 2025)
PDF files added December 18, 2023
Download PDF files
- 1.0 General information (432 KB) (added December 18, 2023)
- 2.0 Inlets and outlets (945 KB) (added December 15, 2023)
- 3.0 GI Components (1.3 MB) (added December 15, 2023)
- 4.0 Bioretention (1.7 MB) (added December 15, 2023)
- 5.0 Rainwater tree trenches (2.2 MB) (added December 15, 2023)
- 6.0 Infiltration systems (1.7 MB) (added December 15, 2023)
- 7.0 Bioswales (1.5 MB) (added December 15, 2023)
- 8.0 Permeable pavements (940 KB) (added December 15, 2023)
- All green infrastructure standard drawings (7 MB) (added December 15, 2023)
CAD files added December 19, 2024
Download CAD files as compressed .zip folders
- 2.0 Inlets and outlets (1.3 MB) (added December 19, 2024)
- 3.0 GI Components (2.3 MB) (added December 19, 2024)
- 4.0 Bioretention (2.3 MB) (added December 19, 2024)
- 5.0 Rainwater tree trenches (1.8 MB) (added December 19, 2024)
- 6.0 Infiltration systems (975 KB) (added December 19, 2024)
- 7.0 Bioswales (1.2 MB) (added December 19, 2024)
- 8.0 Permeable pavers (1.3 MB) (added December 19, 2024)
CAD files added December 15, 2023
Download CAD files as compressed .zip folders
- 2.0 Inlets and outlets (1.4 MB) (added December 15, 2023)
- 3.0 GI Components (3 MB) (added December 15, 2023)
- 4.0 Bioretention (2.4 MB) (added December 15, 2023)
- 5.0 Rainwater tree trenches (2 MB) (added December 15, 2023)
- 6.0 Infiltration systems (1 MB) (added December 15, 2023)
- 7.0 Bioswales (1.3 MB) (added December 15, 2023)
- 8.0 Permeable pavers (1.4 MB) (added December 15, 2023)

Questions about these resources?

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