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The Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia (the Partnership) is the hub for a “convening for action” network in the local government setting, is responsible for delivering the Water Sustainability Action Plan program through partnerships and collaboration, and embraces a vision for shared responsibility where all the players align their efforts for the greater common good. To learn about the Partnership’s genesis and history, visit About Us.
The Partnership plays a bridging role between provincial and local governments, and between local governments and the stewardship sector; and is the steward for Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia, a provincial guidance document released in 2002.
Under the Action Plan umbrella, the Partnership collaborates with government and others to develop methodologies, tools and resources to support implementation of the Whole-System, Water Balance Approach to land use, infrastructure servicing and asset management.
About the Water Sustainability Action Plan
Released by the provincial government in February 2004, the Water Sustainability Action Plan provides a partnership umbrella for advancing on-the-ground initiatives in the local government setting.
The Action Plan is nested within Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan. Released in 2008, Living Water Smart was the provincial government’s call to action, and to this day transcends governments.
In the early years, initiatives were inspired by and built on the conceptual foundation provided by A Water Conservation Strategy for British Columbia, released in 1998. Ian McHarg’s “Design With Nature” vision has influenced Action Plan implementation. The desired outcome is to achieve settlement, economy and ecology in balance.
"Asset Management concepts have been around long enough for staff and elected officials to have an awareness of the issues. We need to truly begin addressing the struggle to implement. One of the big priorities for me this year is to just start bringing Asset Management back to reality. The theme that I am now promoting is this, just tell us your story because people can learn from stories. It does not have to be perfect. We know it is not perfect. But do not be afraid to tell the story. Passing on knowledge really ...
"Arnold Schwabe and Michael Wall held the first regional Community of Practice in 2016, and I was lucky enough to attend. I was 22 years old, an Asset Management Coordinator, and new to local governments. Arnold and Michael created a space where we could all speak frankly about asset management practice in our respective communities. It was such a positive experience that I excitedly offered to host the next meeting. Over time, regional Communities of Practice grew in BC. Southern Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland hosted meetings," stated Gracelyn ...
Susan Haid played a leadership role in trailblazing an ecosystem-based approach to community planning in BC. This approach flowed from passage of the Fish Protection Act 1997. "With an ecosystem-based approach to planning, you can look back and you can look forward. The principles of diversity, interconnectivity, and redundancy within a systems approach are very robust and stand the test of time," stated Susan Haid. In the 2000s, leaders ventured into uncharted territory. Great changes took place. These were possible because individuals took personal risks to innovate. ...
“Politics prevents you from doing the right thing because of the political lens that is put on everything. It was frustrating when I tried to bring the reality of the clearcut logging situation before my colleagues. And getting ignored because it did not fit the political agenda. Nobody seemed to care about the science. In the political world, it is based on whatever the flavour of the month is rather than what is right. Politicians ignore what they do not understand. By ignoring the consequences of clearcut logging, they put themselves in a pretty ...
Fiona Crofton was a life-long environmentalist. She was a leader, a teacher, a facilitator, and mentor, always pursuing her passion for a better and more sustainable world. A former professor in the Civil Engineering Department at the University of British Columbia, Fiona designed the 1st degree-credited course on sustainability globally. It was an award-winning, highly interactive, multi-discipline, web-based course in the engineering faculty but open to all students. She had developed similar courses for other universities and institutes, courses which continue to be popular and ...
"It took us eight years to get Kelowna's first Water Security Plan across the finish line. We define our responsibilities within this plan. We have accomplished something special. I see it. Others see it. Plan outcomes are innovative, achievable and improve things little by little. We achieve them by listening to people, working with their ideas, needs and concerns. Sometimes it is necessary to say to people that you are not going to get what you want right away. It may take 75 years or more. And in this case, it might just start ...
Christina Gemino titled her master's thesis The Silent Death of Agriculture in Metro Vancouver. "The non-sanctioned expansion of industrial use on agricultural land was a factor that drove my research. It can forever change the agricultural land base. There was a 121% increase in ALR parcels with industrial use from 2016 through 2022. It should be ZERO percent. You can build warehouses and industrial stuff pretty well anywhere you have a piece of property. You cannot build a farm by bringing in soil. We have to find other places for this other stuff," stated ...
In the story behind the story, Mark Angelo explains why his title is River Magic; why the Fraser River is the heart and soul of BC; and why Guichon Creek in Burnaby shows never give up. “The Fraser River has been such a big part of my life and a river that is dear to my heart. In 1975, I spent the entire summer paddling down the entire 1375-kilometre length of the Fraser River. I was so enamoured with the river, its powers, its beauty, its diversity. Ever since, I have referred to and ...
"I have been doing collective impact work in the community for more than 10 years. It takes time, it really does. It is only NOW that it is really starting to have a profound impact on some of the other initiatives that we are doing. It is really hard to do really hard work unless you trust and have a relationship with the people doing the work.We know it takes a sustained effort and a sustained backbone or people at the helm to drive it. ...
“The Partnership for Water Sustainability's Mid-Year Report for 2025 is a baseline or landmark document. It is not a conventional annual report in the way people typically expect one to look like. The Partnership has adopted a storytelling approach to inform and engage readers about our mission," stated Tim Pringle. Structured in three parts, the Mid-Year Report describes the Partnership's operational framework followed by a section on the ambassadors' program. Then it weaves quotable quotes into a narrative about the Partnership's array of ...
