Leading Change in Canada: Federation of Canadian Municipalities Showcases BC's Water Sustainability Action Plan

STEAL THIS IDEA! - Session at FCM Sustainable Communities Conference features 'municipal sustainability innovators' from across Canada 

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. At the recent 2011 Sustainable Communities Conference, organized by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), innovators from across Canada shared their breakthrough examples of municipal sustainability in an interactive session titled Steal This Idea!

The session was moderated by Emanuel Machado. He is Manager of Sustainability Services and Special Projects with the District of Sechelt, BC. Previously, he was with the City of Dawson Creek.

"Water in BC is under-valued, under-priced and over-used. The Water Bucket website is having a tremendous impact in helping communities in BC address that challenge by providing awareness, tools and resources that build capacity," he stated.

“Local governments are transitioning from simply pumping and treating water to managing earth’s most precious resource. An example of that transition can be seen in Dawson Creek (in Northeast British Columbia), a city at the forefront of the pressure being felt by communities across Canada due to climate change impacts and increased residential and industrial demands on aging water systems. The December 2006 workshop that introduced the City to BC’s Water Sustainability Action Plan was a catalyst for that change.”

To learn more about the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia, click on Mission Possible: A 50-Year Vision for Urban Watershed Restoration.

News Release #2011-07

February 22, 2011

Leading Change in British Columbia: Paradigm-Shift to Rainwater Management Starts in the Classroom

Rainwater Management: Richard Boase and David Desrochers inspire future engineers to view the built environment differently

The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) recently joined 26 other programs across Canada in offering nationally accredited civil engineering degrees. Consistent with a guiding philosophy of leadership and innovation to achieve the goal, the Department of Civil Engineering is tapping into the wisdom and experience of local government leaders.

"I have been keeping track of what is happening in the Metro Vancouver region. The District of North Vancouver’s Richard Boase and his colleagues in the Water Balance Model Partnership, in particular the City of Vancouver's David Desrochers, are using science blended with innovative thinking and effective communications to affect a change over time with our emerging professionals," observes Dr. Colleen Chan, BCIT School of Construction and the Environment.

“Both Richard Boase and David Desrochers are a wonderful source of inspiration. Their insights about ‘designing with nature’ gave us an idea: develop a Rainwater Management Plan for the BCIT Burnaby Campus as a class project. This is now part of my course curriculum.”

To learn more, click on Rainwater Management at BCIT: Collaboration with Local Governments Introduces Engineering Students to 'Designing with Nature'.

News Release #2011-06

February 15, 2011

Leading Change in the USA: Rainwater-in-Context Initiative

 Mirrors 'Design with Nature' Objectives of BC's Water Sustainability Action Plan

“A key goal of the Rainwater-in-Context Initiative is to help get the United States on the correct path for sustainable rainwater/stormwater management practices,” states Colorado-based Paul Crabtree, a driving force behind the Initiative.

“Rainwater-in-Context unites New Urbanism, rainwater/stormwater and watershed management, Smart Growth, water reuse, low impact, light imprint, and other sustainable practices toward a holistic approach to rainwater that utilizes the rural-to-urban transect and Charter for the New Urbanism.”

“In placing the emphasis on the watershed and the stream, the Rainwater-in-Context Initiative mirrors the ‘design with nature’ approach that we are advancing in British Columbia. By designing with nature, as it were, communities lessen and sometimes avoid the expense of engineering and building various kinds of infrastructure,” observes Tim Pringle, President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.

To learn more, click on Cross-Border Alignment: Connecting the Dots Between Land Use Planning, Development, Watershed Health AND Infrastructure Management. This article consolidates links to a number of articles recently posted on the Water Bucket.

News Release #2011-05

February 8, 2011

Water Sustainability Action Plan releases "Summary Report for ISMP Course Correction Series"

Green Infrastructure: Linkage to Infrastructure Asset Management is a Way to Re-Focus ISMPs on Outcomes and 'Achieve More With Less'

A decade ago, local governments were venturing into uncharted waters when undertaking ISMPs, the acronym for Integrated Stormwater Management Plans. Now, the collective experience of the City of Surrey, the Bowker Creek Initiative (in the Capital Region) and other pioneer leaders such as the District of North Vancouver serves as a guide for an approach that connects with the community and gets the watershed vision right.

During the period November-December 2010, the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia released the 5-part ISMP Course Correction Series. To help those about to embark upon an ISMP process, the Action Plan has today released a Summary Report for the series.

“Through a watershed-based plan, local governments can strategically connect the dots between land use planning, development, watershed health AND infrastructure asset management. And by ‘designing with nature’, local governments could make a very strong case for a ‘sustainable drainage system’, at a lower life-cycle cost,” states Ray Fung, Chair of the Green Infrastructure Partnership.

To learn more, and download a copy of the Summary Report, click on Water Sustainability Action Plan releases "Summary Report for ISMP Course Correction Series".

News Release #2011-04

February 1, 2011

The Most Efficient Infrastructure is 'Design with Nature' - Start With Water Sustainability

President's Perspective:
"Vancouver Island communities enjoy many natural amenities that are in the resources bank and producing returns. Lakes, streams, sea coast, forests, topography, flora and fauna comprise   Island ecology which endows human settlements and the quality of the natural environment," writes Tim Pringle, President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability, in the first issue of his President's Perspective. 

"These assets enable communities to draw on nature for infrastructure services needed for the built environment.  By designing with nature, as it were, communities lessen and sometimes avoid the expense of engineering and building various kinds of infrastructure."  

To read the complete article, click on President's Perspective: 'Design with Nature' Starts With Water Sustainability

Don’t Build a Liability: Connect the Dots between Watershed-Based Planning and Infrastructure Management

 

Move to a Levels-of-Service Approach to Sustainable Drainage Infrastructure 

The term Sustainable Service Delivery describes a life-cycle way of thinking about infrastructure needs and how to pay for those needs over time. The link between infrastructure asset management and the protection of a community’s natural resources is emerging as an important piece in Sustainable Drainage Infrastructure.

“Asset management usually commences after something is built. The challenge is to think about what infrastructure asset management entails BEFORE the asset is built. This paradigm-shift starts with land use planning and determining what services can be provided sustainably, both fiscally and ecologically. Don’t build a liability!”, states Stan Westby, Chair of the Local Government Asset Management Working Group and Chief Administrative Officer with the City of Powell River.

The current issue of the Asset Management BC Newsletter has an article that connects the dots between watershed-based planning and infrastructure management. To learn more, click on Integrated Rainwater Management: Move to a Levels-of-Service Approach to Sustainable Drainage Infrastructure.

News Release #2011-03

January 25, 2011

Water Sustainability Act would help lighten British Columbia's 'Water Footprint'

Province releases Policy Proposal on British Columbia’s new Water Sustainability Act

The Ministry of Environment has released its Policy Proposal on British Columbia’s new Water Sustainability Act and has initiated a second round of public engagement.  The Policy Proposal summarizes the overall framework of a modernized Water Act.

"The proposed Water Sustainability Act recognizes the relationship between land and water. This represents a quantum leap forward in moving BC along a pathway that leads to integration of land and water management practices," observes Tim Pringle, President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.

“The Water Sustainability Act is a valuable legislative tool. We believe it will help communities lighten BC’s water footprint and transition the province to a 'design with nature' way of developing land and managing water.”

To learn more, click on New Water Sustainability Act would help communities lighten British Columbia's 'Water Footprint'.

News Release #2011-02

January 18, 2011