About the Partnership

“The Partnership for Water Sustainability’s Mid-Year Report for 2025 provides an excellent understanding of our ‘philosophical’ rationale, how we function, and the collaborations and resources that make the Partnership effective. This is a baseline or landmark document,” stated Tim Pringle. The Partnership has adopted a storytelling approach to weave quotable quotes into a narrative that informs and engages readers about our mission, operational framework, ambassadors’ program and the array of initiatives that form the Partnership’s twin pillars of water sustainability.

“Twenty years ago, we went live with the waterbucket.ca website. We profile those who do good work in the spirit of Living Water Smart. This is a big reason why waterbucket.ca has become the place where people go to look for information on water. We have the communication platform. We give the champions a voice. We are getting the stories of the Living Water Smart champions out there. This validates what they are doing. That is a public service that the Partnership is able to do because we have an independent communications platform,” stated Mike Tanner.

“Nested within ‘Living Water Smart, BC’s Water Plan’, the main goal of the Water Sustainability Action Plan is to encourage province-wide implementation of fully integrated water sustainability policies, plans and programs,” stated Ray Fung. “The Action Plan recognizes that the greatest impact on water, land and water resources occurs through our individual values, choices and behaviour. The Action Plan promotes and facilitates sustainable approaches to water use, land use and water resource management at all levels – from the province to the household; and in all sectors.”

“In November 2016, the new Societies Act came into effect in British Columbia. It provided clarity regarding types of societies. This clarity helped the Partnership define its identity as the hub for a convening for action network. The Partnership is not, and cannot be, a member-funded society. The reason is that The Partnership is funded mostly by government and provides services to government. The Directors are empowered to create non-voting categories of membership and to date have created four categories,” stated Ted van der Gulik.

“Although the Partnership is a non-for-profit legal entity, we are not building a conventional organization. The Board of Directors is guided by a vision for creating a collaborative network. The difference in visions is fundamental. The network is a foundation piece for succession planning. The network is the ultimate source of strength of the Partnership because the network holds the key to intergenerational collaboration. It is how we build bridges of understanding and pass the baton from the past to the present and future,” states Derek Richmond.

“Within British Columbia, and certainly within the local government setting, The Partnership has a unique modus operandi in terms of our partnership network reason for being. By sharing the pursuit of our mission with our network of partners, we forsake many conventional organizational benefits, such as control over program implementation, funding, and recognition. At the same time, however, we have far more impact than we could ever have on our own. There is a very high level of trust in a network when the people involved know and respect each other,” stated Mike Tanner.

“The Partnership’s guiding philosophy is to help others be successful. When our partners and collaborators are successful, we are successful. The Partnership is led by a team of community-minded and mission-focused elders. Although many on the team are retired from their jobs, they continue their water-centric mission as volunteers. Going forward, making the right decisions depends upon benefitting from, and building on, the experience of elders with knowledge plus the wisdom that has been gained through decades of experience,” states Kim Stephens.

Erik Karlsen (1945-2020) was the Partnership’s ‘eminence grise’. When he retired from government, he turned his mind to the work of The Partnership. Influential in government, and the architect of BC’s Georgia Basin Initiative, Erik crafted the think pieces that guided the process for development of the Water Sustainability Action Plan. Erik helped everyone push the boundaries of their comfort zones. The result was a philosophical foundation and framework that has guided The Partnership to this day.

“The IREI is nested within the Water Sustainability Action Plan which, in turn, is nested within Living Water Smart. Cascading is the reverse way to think about this nesting concept. Each successive layer in the cascade adds depth and detail to enable the move from awareness to implementation – that is, action. In the IREI program, we focus attention on the 4Cs – communication, cooperation, coordination, collaboration. The 4Cs guide what we do. We live and breathe collaboration. This plays out in everything that the Partnership does. Building trust and respect starts with a conversation,” states Richard Boase.

“The Partnership is the evolution of many initiatives around water sustainability in BC. The Partnership does its work under the umbrella of the Water Sustainability Action Plan. This has led to growing collaboration regarding the role of water sustainability in shaping our communities. Water sustainability is a metaphor for managing the built environment sustainably. Incorporating the Partnership as a legal entity is a natural outcome. This demonstrated record of collaboration is our strength going forward,” stated Tim Pringle.

“The Directors concluded that it would be in the best long-term interests of the Partnership to make membership simple to administrate. Any individual with an interest in green infrastructure and/or water sustainability can become an associate member of the Partnership. All that individuals need do is go to ‘waterbucket.ca’ and follow the instructions to receive the Partnership’s weekly e-Newsletters,” states Peter Law. “Members who are registered in the non-voting Associate category have our permission to make use of information resources and guidance documents published by the Partnership.”

“Our partnerships & collaboration journey actually commenced some two decades before incorporation of the Partnership as a legal entity in November 2010. A group of like-minded and passionate individuals, including representatives of three levels of government, came together as a committee and created a ‘water roundtable’ that evolved over time into The Partnership. And what was the mission of this water roundtable? Champion a water-centric approach to use and conservation of land. Develop tools, resources and programs to support water-centric planning,” stated Kim Stephens.

“The Partnership’s Constitution is now aligned with the new Societies Act. 2018 was our first full year operating under the new act,” stated Derek Richmond. “Changes in municipal staffing and recent municipal elections have enabled us to renew and strengthen old relationships and also develop new relationships. This re-enforces the importance of collaboration between all parties and the opportunity to review and embrace the foundation of our past success through collaboration, cooperation and coordination.”

Big or small, rural or urban, our communities are experiencing change at an unprecedented rate. From climate change to economic pressures, local governments are on the front lines managing the local impact of complex issues. In an uncertain future, local leaders have a duty to learn from each other and from the past and to find new approaches to plan and thrive. “One-on-one conversations with mayors and councillors from towns around BC was an effective way to inform them about the Partnership’s work,” stated Richard Boase.

“Future planners, engineers, scientists, politicians and citizens alike will be called upon to demonstrate both vision and pragmatism, working as a team towards consensus, commitment and collaboration for the common good. Such collaboration is essential and must cross all political and community boundaries given that climate change is no respecter of such creations. The Partnership has accepted this challenge and its implementation,” stated Eric Bonham.

“With the passing of Hugh Fraser in 2025, the Partnership recognized the need for a way to honour Lifetime Members who have died. After all, we reasoned, lifetime membership technically ends with the death of the individual. So, how do we reconcile the need and desire to continue honouring their memories? What is the appropriate way to recognize the contributions and legacies of those who have left the world of the living, we asked ourselves. It was John Finnie who suggested Gone But Not Forgotten. Simple and succinct. It resonated,” stated Ted van der Gulik.

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 over-subscribed.

Ron Neufeld enjoyed a nearly 30-year career serving the City of Campbell River and the former Comox-Strathcona Regional District. Starting as an engineering technician, he steadily advanced his career to retire in 2022 as Deputy City Manager. His impact on the community was far-reaching. He played a pivotal role in improving local infrastructure, championed environmental stewardship, and led the negotiations of complex municipal agreements with integrity and vision. “During the earlier days of the Partnership, he was an integral part of our networking and information dissemination process,” recalled Derek Richmond.

Shared responsibility is a foundation piece for Delta’s rain garden program. “Everyone in the process, students, designers, managers and constructors, must understand and care about the big-picture goal. This requires an ongoing educational process that instills an ethic. This is a team effort. Nothing would have happened without all working together and continuing to work together. Creating a watershed health legacy will ultimately depend on how well we are able to achieve rain water management improvements on both public and private sides of a watershed,” stated Hugh Fraser.

Rob Lawrance grew up in the Cowichan Valley where he began his stewardship journey. In his time with the City of Nanaimo, he played a key role in almost every major waterway stewardship initiative in Nanaimo and connected community stewardship passion with municipal capacity. In 2021, Rob retired from the City and moved to Blaine, Washington. Tragically, he passed away in May 2022 while participating in the cyclocross leg of the Bellingham Ski to Sea relay race.

“Kate Miller is a worthy inaugural recipient of this award. Kate connects the dots between community and regional government water stewardship collaboration. Kate also leads in inter-regional collaboration on water stewardship initiatives through her key participation on the Watershed Moments Team. Kate is an outstanding asset to her community and the community of water stewardship practice, and through collaboration and sharing of experience is growing a culture of water stewardship in the CVRD, across Vancouver Island and beyond,” stated Paul Chapman.

“Early in her career, Jody Watson realized the importance and value of local government-community relationships built upon mutual trust, respect and common purpose. In her role as Supervisor of Environmental Initiatives, Jody has emphasized collaboration and teamwork at every opportunity. Creative community partnerships are being forged to address changing circumstances. An able communicator and mentor who ‘walks her talk’, Jody is both a visionary and a pragmatist, for the vision and task are equally important, and that is what makes the difference,” stated Eric Bonham.

“Growing a network breaks all the rules of conventional thinking. It is the antithesis of building an organization that has staff. Instead, the network aligns individuals and organizations to deliver results across organizational boundaries. However, a network does require a nucleus or ‘engine’ for legal and organizational continuity. The Partnership for Water Sustainability serves that function for our local government partners within the Georgia Basin bioregion. Ensuring continuity of the network comes down to how organizations continue WITHIN the network,” stated Kim Stephens.