“The Water Sustainability Committee of the British Columbia Water & Waste Association (BCWWA) provided the core content for Day Three. his positioning fitted well with our convening for action mantra: What / So What / Now What. Our team of Oliver Brandes, Lynn Kriwoken and Kim Stephens provided the Now What part of the program,” reports Ray Fung.
“The Kelowna conference was an important first step in focusing stakeholder attention on the decisions that need to be made now if we are to move towards sustainable water management in BC. Inter-association collaboration is an essential ingredient if collectively we are to create the province-wide momentum that will result in substantive change related to water management and use,” stated Don Degen.
“The paper suggests expanding the application of the Water Balance Model approach to all land uses in the Okanagan, and in particular agriculture. In the urban environment, the main focus is on the individual development site because what we do at the site scale can create opportunities for cumulative benefits over time,” explains Kim Stephens. “In applying the water balance philosophy to the Okanagan in its entirety, the proposed paradigm would be: ‘the Basin is the site’.”
“The year 2003 was a memorable one in British Columbia history. Anything and everything that could happen did in fact happen: drought, forest fires and floods. They provided the backdrop and the context for the Province convening an event in July 2004 that was branded as the Penticton Drought Forum. The Province’s response to the 2003 drought encompassed a Drought Handbook and a $2M drought planning grant planning program. The rollout of both commenced at the Penticton Forum.,” stated Kim Stephens.
“Integrated water management involves consideration of land, water, air and living organisms – including humans – as well as the interactions among them. Through partnerships, the Water Sustainability Action Plan is promoting the watershed as a fundamental planning unit. The waterbucket.ca will connect all six Action Plan Elements to provide the complete story on integrated water management – why, what, where and how – and is the key to the communication strategy for the Action Plan,” stated Mike Tanner.
