Spring 2011 Seminar for BC Municipal Engineers draws attention to "Water Sustainability through Green Infrastructure"

Treat the Land with Respect

In April 2011, the Municipal Engineers Division (MED) of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEGBC) held its Spring Seminar in Richmond. The seminar focus was on Municipal Sustainability. Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, delivered the closing presentation. 

"The MED seminar provided a timely platform to reach a local government audience with our key messages about the infrastructure liability challenge facing all local governments. In our outreach program, we are placing emphasis on connecting the dots between land use planning, development, watershed health AND asset management. In particular, we wanted to draw attention to the need for a course correction in the way Integrated Stormwater Management Plans are being developed in the Metro Vancouver region," states Kim Stephens. 

"Water sustainability literally flows from a community's land ethic. If we treat the land with respect, the water resource will be protected. That is the essence of integration. We often hear experts talk about cumulative impacts when they explain degradation of water quality. Well, the flip side of a problem is an opportunity. Through implementation of green infrastructure policies and practices, we can achieve cumulative benefits over time, one propery at a time."

TO LEARN MORE: To read the complete story posted on the Water Bucket website, click on MED Spring 2011 Seminar draws attention to "Water Sustainability through Green Infrastructure"