Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC

“The Water Bucket team is working with the Cowichan Valley Regional Team to help them capture their key messages about the 2012 Forum on Sustainable Rainwater Management in a conversational way,” states Mike Tanner

“What was unique about our approach was the educational context. Willing project proponents volunteered to develop and share the case studies. It truly was a collaborative effort,” recalls Rob Conway.

“The educational approach is helping us to identify and empower a core group of local champions who will then have the expertise to apply and advance the water balance approach to land development,” states Peter Nilsen.

“We are increasingly advising development applicants that they need to manage rainwater runoff where it falls. Until now we have not had an appropriate way to assess their proposed solutions.The Water Balance Model is a great way to do this. It provides local government reviewers with a measurable way of determining what is a good solution for a particular site,” noted Rob Conway.

“We are fostering a growing understanding of the fact that what goes on at a site, in terms of how rainwater is treated, is linked not only to stream and watershed health, but also to our social well-being and aesthetics of our communities. Unlike the pipe-and-convey approach, the use of source control features is an investment in green value that brings returns for the developer and end-users of a site,” stated Jay Bradley.

“The methodology integrates the components of the water balance, and assesses how they change as the percentage of hard surface increases: runoff goes up; infiltration and surface evaporation both go down. Evaporation is critical and typically gets overlooked in conventional drainage modelling,” emphasized Jim Dumont.

“Each region has developed a provincially significant plan or approach to achieve water and watershed sustainability.All are striving to implement a consistent regional approach that protects and/or restores natural watershed function over time. All are advancing watershed-based strategies and programs for integrating the site with the watershed and stream. These initiatives all recognize the importance of instilling a land ethic that respects water,” observes Derek Richmond

“We don’t talk only about water. We challenge our audiences, ‘What do we want this place to look like in 50 years?’ Because the decisions we make now about land development will ripple through time,” states Kim Stephens.

“We define conservation quite broadly, to include more than just conserving energy or reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Our long-term goal is build connections between and within communities that result in advancing existing and creating new community-based commitments to actions that support the creation of a conservation culture, and ultimately, conservation itself,” states Pia Nagpal.

“BC Hydro Power Smart recognizes the need for collaboration among organizations and individuals within the province. As such, we have coordinated efforts with the Climate Action Secretariat’s office to build this provincial community network that can and will support regional based activities,” stated Jeff Chiu.