Seminar #2 in the 2011 Comox Valley Series: Links to downloadable copies of presentations
2011 Theme: A Regional Response to Infrastructure Liability
“History shows that local governments are very good at planning ahead, but not-so-good at looking ahead – for example: The initial capital cost of municipal infrastructure is about 20% of the life-cycle cost. The other 80% is an unfunded liability, and is increasing year after year,” states Glenn Westendorp, Public Works Superintendent with the Town of Comox. He is Chair of the 2011 Series.
“The theme for the 2011 Series is A Regional Response to Infrastructure Liability. This is a driver for a change in the way local governments plan, finance, implement and over time replace infrastructure. The focus of the 2011 Series is on why and how all those involved in land development have a role to play in achieving Sustainable Service Delivery,” adds Derek Richmond, Manager of Engineering Services with the City of Courtenay.
To learn more about the program design, click on Sustainable Service Delivery: Comox Valley Local Governments Release Program Details for 2011 Learning Lunch Series
Seminar #2 – Adaptation
In April, Seminar #1 painted a picture of the ‘legacy liability’ of existing hard infrastructure (i.e. roads, water, sewers). On May 19, Seminar #2 dealt with green infrastructure and how it enables ‘sustainable urban drainage’ at a lower life-cycle cost.
The Seminar #2 spotlight was on urban watershed protection and restoration issues, with emphasis on a ‘design with nature’ approach to climate change adaptation. A desired outcome was that participants would understand how a ‘design with nature’ approach to implementation of green infrastructure integrates rainwater management and drought management.
To download a copy of the agenda, click on Seminar #2 Agenda: Adaptation – Design with Nature to Achieve Rainfall Capture and Water Conservation Goals
Links to Presentations:
The team of Glenn Westendorp, Jack Minard (Comox Valley Land Trust) and Kevin Lorette (Comox Valley Regional District) opened the morning session by presenting a cascading presentation that set the scene for a “course within the seminar” by Jim Dumont. To download their presentations, click on the links below:
- Look Beyond Our Municipal Boundaries – Align Efforts at a Watershed Scale (6.6MB PDF) by Glenn Westendorp, Jack Minard and Kevin Lorette — Sustainable Service Delivery links land use planning, watershed health and ‘infrastructure liability’
- Rainwater Management in a Watershed Context: Do More With Less & Achieve Stream Health Benefits (1.6MB PDF) by Jim Dumont — Natural landscape-based assets reduce runoff volumes, have lower life-cycle costs, decrease stresses applied to creeks, and enhance urban liveability.
In the afternoon, Glenn Westendorp and Tim Pringle (Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC) combined to provide context for a town-hall sharing session on Northeast Comox. To download their consolidated presentation, click on Look Within Our Municipal Boundaries – Northeast Comox Case Study (10.2 MB PDF)
Posted May 2011