“Sustainability is a buzzword. We hear it daily, but what does it mean in the community context? The conference provided a timely opportunity for three leading British Columnbian proponents of water-centric sustainability to collaborate in explaining what it means to move along the “soft path” of water use in neighbourhoods and communities,” stated Joanne deVries.
“While climate change will be the challenge of this generation — water will be THE critical resource for the 21st Century. We must protect, restore and enhance our understanding of this most fundamental resource. The era of water-centric planning is upon us. Now it is up to all of us to begin balancing our water budget,” stated Oliver Brandes.
“Our focus is on what level of water saving can be achieved through landscaped-based measures such as soil amendments and irrigation system improvements. The City has maximized the saving that can be achieved by reducing indoor water use. By tackling outdoor use, the target is to reduce peak water demand by a further 15% by 2012,” reported Don Degen.
“In having one-on-one conversations about green infrastructure, my objective was to see the world through the eyes of elected officials. That is an important first step in figuring out how to translate technical information into a form that elected officials can readily absorb so that they can make informed decisions,” stated Kim Stephens.
