Watermark magazine article describes what was achieved at the 2009 Penticton Forum

The Mission is to Create A Legacy

The Summer 2009 issue of Watermark Magazine, published by the British Columbia Water & Waste Association, included an article about the Penticton Forum. Held in conjunction with the Annual BCWWA Conference, the Forum showcased three regions where communities are ‘convening for action’ and embracing a ‘regional team approach’ to make a difference.

The Penticton Forum also showcased web-based provincial tools that have been developed to help communities achieve water sustainability through truly green development. 

 

“The Province’s Living Water Smart and  Green Communities initiatives provide a framework and direction for convening for action in the Okanagan, on Vancouver Island and in Metro Vancouver,” states Gl\en Brown. He is an Executive Director with the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development; and a Past-Chair of the BCWWA Water Sustainability Committee. “Each regional initiative is developing a vision and road map for achieving settlement in balance with ecology.” 

“The forum program comprised four modules built around the creating our future and doing business differently themes," adds Anna Sears, Executive Director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board. "The Forum was an exciting day because regional leaders elaborated on new approaches and tools for 'living water smart', and changing the way land is developed and water is used."

TO LEARN MORE: To download a copy of the Watermark article, please click on this link to The 2009 Penticton Forum: Showcasing partnerships, collaboration, innovation and integration. Leading up to the Forum, a series of downloadable documents were published on Water Bucket. These stories progressively describe the elements of the Forum program in order to establish participant expectations. The downloadable documents are complemented by online versions that are complete with embedded links to other resources on the Water Bucket Website. 

To access these resources on the Water Bucket website, click on The Story of the Penticton Forum: Smart Planning & Living Water Smart - Approaches & Tools for Doing Business Differently in BC.

Climate Change Adaptation Tools Workshop on November 22-23 in Kelowna and Penticton

Workshop Offers Hands-On Training!

“In these times of fiscal restraint and changing climate, risk management through careful planning – and avoiding expensive fixes - makes sense.   This upcoming workshop will provide cutting edge policy information and hands-on training with the latest web-based water management tools, helping address emerging water issues facing local governments, in particular those in the Okanagan,” states Anna Warwick Sears, Executive Director, Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB).

“This workshop will be of great value to engineers, planners, and local government consultants and was created in response to requests for such an event. We anticipate the workshop will sell-out quickly since space is limited.”

“We are bringing together a number of experts (who normally present as individuals at various events around B.C.) in one location, presenting as part of this workshop, providing a fantastic deal to attendees!  OBWB, and our partner Natural Resources Canada, are able to subsidize the workshop and provide the event at a discounted rate,” concludes Anna Warwick Sears.

TOP LEARN MORE: Click on www.obwb.ca/toolsworkshop

 E-Blast #2011-60

November 8, 2011

Is a Public-Private Partnership right for your Water System?

Find out at BCWWA' P3 Seminar in Burnaby on November 23 

As costs increase and budgets diminish, many communities are looking at Public-Private Partnerships as an option for replacing aging infrastructure. Navigating Public-Private Partnerships can be difficult, but under the right circumstances they can achieve outstanding results. On November 23^rd the BC Water & Waste Association (BCWWA) is holding a seminar on Exploring Public-Private Partnerships (P3) in the BC Water Sector.

“Our main goal is to provide a clear understanding of how the Public Private Partnership funding model works. We want to provide good information on which local governments can make informed decisions on the feasibility of this method for funding water and wastewater infrastructure projects in their community,” states Daisy Foster, BCWWA Chief Executive Officer. She advises that presentations and case studies will include examples of:

• P3 project planning, structure and management within the British Columbia water sector
• P3-specific due diligence for public agencies
• P3 business cases that clearly identify costs and benefits
• P3 stakeholder communication and consultation

“Seminar attendees will hear from and interact with different P3 experts, practitioners and stakeholders. This seminar will provide a range of perspectives, not advocate any one point of view.”

“The seminar will be of value to water utility managers and engineers, elected officials and water sector consultants. Attend this seminar to learn more about the benefits and challenges of P3s and decide whether they could work for you!,” concludes Daisy Foster.

TO LEARN MORE: Click on www.bcwwa.org   

E-Blast #2011-59

November 8, 2011

A decade ago the SmartStorm Forum Series set in motion a chain of events that are still reverberating in British Columbia

Genesis for 'Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia'

A decade ago, the SmartStorm Forum Series comprised events on Vancouver Island (Nanaimo in January 1999) and the Sunshine Coast (Sechelt in September 1999), and in the Fraser Valley (Abbotsford and Pitt Meadows in March 2001).

The genesis for the series was a focus group workshop held in October 1997. Convened by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM), the workshop was part of the rollout process for the Fish Protection Act, enacted only a few months before. The coming together of a group of change agents in October 1997 set in motion a chain of events that has reverberated through time.

A value-added dimension to the SmartStorm Forum Series was the involvement of elected representatives, in particular Mayor Barryk of the Town of Gibsons. Mayor Janyk was the moderator for the last three in the series.

"The response to the SmartStorm Forum Series was simply overwhelming," recalls Mayor Barry Janyk, "For the first event, held in Nanaimo, the doors had to be closed when the surge of last-minute  registrations reached the 250 seating capacity of the Coast Bastion venue."

"When we decided to host the second event on the Sunshine Coast, the skeptics asked me who would come to the Sunshine Coast. Well, they did come and they came from far and wide, including a representative of the Ontario Ministry of Environment. We attracted a capacity crowd of some 225 to the local theatre in Sechelt."

Mayor Janyk's championing of the series led to the mayors of Abbotsford, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows stepping forward and volunteering their municipalities as hosts for the two Fraser Valley events.

"We attracted comparable crowds in Abbotsford and Pitt Meadows. We created a buzz. This led directly to development of Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia," states Barry Janyk. 

TO LEARN MORE: To read the complete story posted on the Water Bucket website, click on A Look Back to the SmartStorm Forum Series

Founded on British Columbia case study experience, and released by the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection in 2002, Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia formalized a science-based understanding to set performance targets for reducing rainwater runoff volumes and rates. These targets represent the synthesis of biological and hydrological understanding.

The Guidebook's premise that land development and watershed protection can be compatible represented a radical shift in thinking in 2002.

Living Water Smart & Building Greener Communities

Implementing a 'regional team approach' in British Columbia

A regional team approach is founded on partnerships and collaboration; and seeks to align actions at three scales – provincial, regional and local. The key word is alignment: this is what we want to collectively achieve, and this is how we will work together to get there. The essence of the regional team approach is that all the players will set their sights on the common good and challenge the old barriers of jurisdictional interests.

“We are using the slogan The New Business As Usual to convey the message that, for change to really occur, practices that until now have been viewed as the exception must become the norm moving forward. We have to build regulatory models and develop models of practice and expertise to support The New Business As Usual,” stated Dale Wall, former Deputy Minister (Community & Rural Development), at the Gaining Ground Summit in May 2008. The Summit was held in Victoria. 

To download an article about the Ten Goals that provide the framework for creating liveable communities, reducing wasteful water use, and protecting stream health...click on Living Water Smart & Building Greener Communities: Implementing a 'regional team approach' in British Columbia.

Shared Responsibility Underpins a Regional Team Approach to Creating Our Future in British Columbia

Living Water Smart and Green Communities Initiative are a "Call to Action"

In December 2009, the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia released a Backgrounder that discusses how the Province has enabled local government by providing law and policy tools to help communities achieve water sustainability and manage settlement change in balance with ecology.

“The program goals for Living Water Smart, BC’s Water Plan and the companion Green Communities Initiative constitute a ‘call to action’ on the part of British Columbians to manage settlement change in balance with ecology,” states Tim Pringle, formerly the Director of Special Programs for the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia.

 

“Living Water Smart and the Green Communities Initiative must be viewed as an integrated package. Living Water Smart presents the vision, and the Green Communities Initiative provides enabling tools to achieve the vision. The solutions and commitments go beyond what government does. Living Water Smart supports planning that is as much about land as water." 

TO LEARN MORE: To download a copy of the Backgrounder, click on Backgrounder: Shared Responsibility Underpins a Regional Team Approach to Creating Our Future in British Columbia

To access an article posted on the Water Bucket website by Tim Pringle that provides background on the settlement in balance with ecology theme, click on Water for Life and Livelihoods: How does a community balance settlement change and ecology?

Do You Wonder How Lower Mainland Local Governments Will Use On-Site Rainwater Management to Address Regulatory Requirements?

The 'Course on the ISMP Course Correction' Will Showcase Tools and Case Study Experience to Help Restore Watershed Health

The commitments by Metro Vancouver and member municipalities to develop ISMPs (Integrated Stormwater Management Plans) and implement on-site rainwater management are spelled out in the region’s Integrated Liquid Waste & Resource Management Plan. To help local governments fulfil their regulatory commitments, the City of Surrey is hosting a 2-day Course on the ISMP Course Correction on November 9-10..

“The purpose of the course is to have both local governments and consultants get together to discuss ISMPs and learn about the various ways they can be delivered. Many local governments are struggling with having these done in a fashion that is meaningful for their community – hopefully, the course will open up ideas,” states Carrie Baron, Surrey’s Drainage and Environment Manager.

“The course is intended to assist local governments, other Ministries and consultants delivering the ISMPs to understand options available. Local governments in the Metro Vancouver region are required to have ISMPs completed for all their watersheds by 2014, with possible extension to 2016.  Many have not started any yet, but will be shortly.  Others have done some, but still have questions in terms of delivery and outcomes.”

“So far 17 different local governments have signed up to attend this workshop-type course.  This could be an opportunity. The 2-day course will benefit all those who are involved in land use planning, infrastructure development and municipal infrastructure. We will show how to integrate the site with the watershed and the stream," concludes Carrie Baron.

 

LAST WEEK TO REGISTER: Click on http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/ISMPCourseCorrection.asp Registrations close Friday, November 4.

TO LEARN MORE: To access the ISMP Course Correction 'homepage' on the Water Bucket website and learn more about the program design, click here.  

In the late 1990s, the genesis for ISMPs was a desire by local governments to integrate the community, engineering, planning and environmental perspectives. Lessons learned by those who have developed watershed-based plans can help those who are about to embark on an ISMP process. Focus on values and actions. Keep it simple. Find a starting point that is intuitive to everyone. Ensure actions are practical and easy to implement.

"The City of Surrey, Bowker Creek Initiative and District of North Vancouver stand out because of their sustained commitment to outcome-oriented approaches: Establish the vision, set the target, and then implement," observes Corino Salomi of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). He is Area Manager, Oceans, Habitat & Enhancement Branch, Lower Fraser Area.

 

To fill a professional development need, the Partnership for Water Sustainability has developed a 2-day course titled ISMP Course Correction: Achieve More with Less. Peer-based learning will be provided by an inter-governmental team. Lead members of the ISMP Course Correction Team are Carrie Baron (City of Surrey), Richard Boase (District of North Vancouver) and Jody Watson  (Capital Regional District). 

The teaching team also includes John McMahon (District of West Vancouver), Glen Brown (Province of BC), Jim Dumont (Water Balance Model Partnership) and Kim Stephens (Partnership for Water Sustainability).

E-Blast #2011-58

November 3, 2011