Convening for Action in British Columbia

“The Development Servicing Bylaw provides a relevant frame of reference for implementing the WBM Express. It contains language that clearly identifies that flood risk and erosion be maintained at rates that approximate the natural forested watershed,” observes Steve Ono.

“One of the ways to foster more sustainable behavior and the protection of watersheds such as Hastings Creek is to engage residents so that they feel connected personally to their watershed. It is not a matter of only saying what the District can do for the watershed. Rather, it must be all the stakeholders,” states Julie Pavey.

“The Opportunities Assessment by the District is founded on streamkeeper knowledge. Now we can work with the District to inform the broader community. We can open eyes and minds. We can open doors so that together we can make the changes necessary to achieve the vision for the Watershed Blueprint,” states ZoAnn Morten.

“District of North Vancouver staff have demonstrated leadership and innovation in the way they have approached development of the Hastings Creek Watershed Blueprint. The waterbucket.ca team is therefore pleased to provide this homepage so that these champions can share the ‘stories behind the story’ of Hastings Creek.” states Mike Tanner.

“Council defined our top public policy questions ‐ things like sustainable residential development and how do adopt a climate action plan. We handed these priorities to citizen led working groups. We wanted these citizens to begin writing our public policy for us. And they have,” stated Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones.

“Water is the piece that integrates everything that we care about. We are using the phrase water stewardship, not water management. Stewardship is about replacing self interest, dependency and control with service, responsibility and partnership,” stated Lynn Kriwoken.

“Although there is a perception that BC is water-rich, the reality is that we are often seasonally water-short (mainly because of storage limitations) during the period when water demand is heaviest due to lawn and garden irrigation,” state the authors in their opening paragraph.

“The drought, forest fires and floods that British Columbia experienced in 2003 have created a teachable moment for change in the way we view water in this province,” stated Ray Fung. “Capitalizing on this opportunity, the purpose of the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia is to promote and facilitate sustainable approaches to water use and water resource management.” Sustainable communities are all about choices – choices that become reality very quickly, with lasting consequences.

“The Primer introduces the issue of the ‘unfunded infrastructure liability’. Viewing the watershed through an asset management lens provides local governments with a driver to require that development practices mimic the Water Balance,” states Craig Wightman.

“What was a dream in 2002, when the Province released ‘Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for BC’, may now in fact be achievable. We have the tools and experience to ‘design with nature’ in order to soften the ‘water footprint’ of development. Watershed restoration is within our grasp,” stated Peter Law.