Inter-Association Collaboration: Convening for Action Launched at ‘Okanagan Conference’ Organized By CWRA in 2005
Water Balance Way-of-Thinking Championed by Water Sustainability Committee
In the spirit of inter-association collaboration, the Water Sustainability Committee of the British Columbia Water & Waste Association (BCWWA) provided the core content for Day Three of the 3-day Okanagan Conference organized by the Canadian Water Resources Association (CWRA).
Convening for Action in British Columbia
Held in February 2005, this conference was the kick-off event for the Convening for Action (CFA) intiative and provided the platform for two companion WSC presentations:
- To view the PowerPoint presentation by Kriwoken and Brandes, click on Changing Perspectives – Changing Paradigms: Demand management strategies and innovative solutions for a sustainable Okanagan water future – This presentation provided the big picture and explained the concept of a water management continuum: from the supply-side, through the demand-side to the soft path. Moving beyond simply doing the same with less water, the ‘soft path’ seeks to build resiliency.
- To view the PowerPoint presentation by Stephens et al, click on Water Balance Management in the Okanagan: Now What Do We Do? – This presentation built on the first paper by laying out the concept for an Okanagan Water Balance Strategy and introducing the following equation to guide the integration of water management with land development: Water OUT = Water IN!
CFA is a sustained education process that is designed to broaden the province-wide base for this shared vision: In a fully integrated landscape, water is the unifying element.
Towards Sustainable Water Management in the Okanagan
“This event 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, President of the BC Water & Waste Association. The Water Sustainability Committee of the BCWWA provided the core content for Day Three.
To Learn More:
To read the complete story about the Kelowna presentations, click on Towards Sustainable Water Management in the Okanagan .
