Convening for Action in British Columbia

DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Mobilize Stewardship Groups, Close Data Gap in Community Planning” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in May 2025

May 6, 2025 - Posted in ...2025, PUBLICATIONS & DOWNLOADS

Note to Reader:

Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. Stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway (REPRODUCED BELOW), Editor’s Perspective, and the Story Behind the Story.

The edition published on May 6, 2025 featured the Vancouver Island Community Flow Monitoring Network. The story behind the story is structured in four parts. An over-arching message is that flow monitoring is a springboard to broader initiatives which can then inform community planning. The idea for a community-based flow monitoring network was seeded years ago in conversations between Peter Law and Neil Goeller, former colleagues in the Ministry of Environment.

Mobilize Stewardship Groups, Close Data Gap in Community Planning

“The Vancouver Island Community Flow Monitoring Network supports groups who are interested in monitoring flows along the east coast of Vancouver Island. For the most part these are volunteer-led, community stewardship groups. We are also trying to provide more support to First Nations communities,” explains Ally Badger.

Mobilizing stewardship groups to fill the gap at the micro-scale in the provincial database

“It is very much a collaboration. Thanks to the personal commitment by Neil Goeller, the Ministry of Environment and Parks is a strong project partner with the network. Ministry staff have trained me to be the trainer so that I can go out and deliver it to the groups,” continues Ally Badger.

“Ministry staff participate and will come out and do site visits and help with some of our larger training events and meetings. They also do a lot to help with the technical expertise side of things in terms of correcting the data, developing rating curves and being the final approval.”

It takes a lot of hands-on effort to monitor streamflow and collect high quality data

“Currently, we have 9 active community-based hydrometric stations in the network The groups operate the stations and we support them. We provide training, do site visits for as long as needed until they feel comfortable doing it on their own.”

“A lot of these groups were already conducting flow monitoring and had stations and equipment set up. But it was hard to know what the data could be used for. Monitoring flow involves much more than throwing a datalogger in the stream and coming back once in a while to check on it. Getting reliable and useful data takes a lot of effort and hands-on work.”

To Learn More:

Waterbucket eNews stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective and Context for Busy Reader, and the Story Behind the Story. To read the complete 3-part storyline, download a PDF copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Mobilize Stewardship Groups, Close Data Gap in Community Planning.