Kim Stephens receives Bridge Building Award at 2010 Annual BCWWA Conference
Peer Recognition
At the 38th Annual Conference of the British Columbia Water & Waste Association, held in Whistler in May 2010, Kim Stephens received the Bridge Building Award. This recognizes individuals who help build linkages between BCWWA and other groups.
“K
im was a founding member of the Water Sustainability Committee in 1992, and has been chair of that commitee twice since that time. He has been the consumate bridge builder,” stated Jack Bryden, a recent Past-President when he introduced Kim Stephens at the awards ceremony.
“Bringing passion and energy to everything he does, Kim’s ability to build relationships and partnerships with broad water stakeholders has resulted in a positive change to how we understand the relationship between land-use and the true value of water.”
“Kim’s efforts on the Water Balance Model, the Water Bucket Website and his leadership with the Convening for Action team (on Vancouver Island) on behalf of the Water Sustainability Committee has resulted in bringing together stakeholders from all levels of government, industry and NGOs to address local issues surrounding water and land-use.”
About Kim Stephens
Since 2003, Kim Stephens has been Program Coordinator and ‘virtual secretariat’ for the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia, the partnership umbrella for an array of ‘top down bottom up’ initiatives that promote a water-centric approach to community planning and development.
He is an engineer-planner whose 37 years of experience cover the spectrum of water resource and infrastructure engineering issues – from master planning and computer modeling to project design and implementation.
He specializes in public policy and integration of perspectives as they relate to urban watershed planning and application of decision support systems, and has had a leadership role in a series of Provincial initiatives in British Columbia related to water sustainability, rainwater management, green infrastructure, and smart development.
Beyond the Guidebook 2010
Kim Stephens was Project Manager and principal author for Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia, released by the Province in 2002. The Guidebook set in motion a chain of outcomes that has resulted in British Columbia being recognized internationally as a leader in implementing a natural systems approach to rainwater management in the urban environment.
He was responsible for compiling Beyond the Guidebook 2010: Implementing a New Culture for Urban Watershed Protection and Restoration in British Columbia, released in June 2010. Beyond the Guidebook 2010 describes how water sustainability can and will be achieved through implementation of green infrastructure policies and practices. Getting there relies on a change in mind-set.
International Recognition
Kim Stephens has received international recognition for his pioneering efforts and has been invited to speak on ‘the British Columbia experience’ and make keynote presentations at forums in Australia and throughout North America.
Formerly a Vice-President with CH2M Hill, his innovation related to the UniverCity sustainable community on Burnaby Mountain in Greater Vancouver is featured in the book Dancing with the Tiger: Learning Sustainability Step by Natural Step by Brian F. Nattrass and Mary Altomare.
Kim Stephens was the catalyst for a fundamental re-thinking of how practitioners approach urban drainage; and was responsible for developing the ‘water balance methodology’ that is embedded in the Water Balance Model for Canada.