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“I now see that we are one very small step away from seeing this region embrace rainwater harvesting in a manner in which I had only thought was something to dream about; and I am inspired to really push to see that the goals that we have for our North Vancouver watersheds are realized,” stated Richard Boase. “We are really close to seeing our region embrace the kind of smart development that I had thought was much further away than it is today. That’s what I am taking away from this day.”

“We believe we have an exciting program. We have brought together a powerhouse team of nine rainwater champions. These individuals are leading change in BC and/or beyond. They are all very passionate about what they do. They have wisdom, are pragmatic, and their enthusiasm is contagious,” states Mike Tanner. “By 2020, the Province expects that 50% of new municipal water needs will be acquired through conservation. This provincial target frames learning outcomes for the workshop.”

“During the AGM, we will also be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Water Sustainability Action Plan for BC. The Partnership is helping the Province of British Columbia to implement the Living Water Smart and Green Communities initiatives. This is done through a shared responsibility in delivering the Action Plan,” states Tim Pringle.

“The workshop is built around the Annual General Meeting of the partnering organizations. At the conclusion of the morning session, we will take a 90-minute lunch break to hold separate annual meetings. Then it will be back to the workshop,” states Karen van der Gulik. The workshop is structured in four modules: provincial targets for Living Water Smart;; water balance benefits of water conservation; implementer perspectives about rainwater harvesting; townhall on greatest challenges.

“The common perception is that British Columbia has an abundance of water…but does it? We are often water-short when demand is greatest. And now our climate is changing. What are the implications and opportunities for rainwater harvesting as a source of water for potable and non-potable uses?,” asks Kim Stephens. “The educational objective is that participants will be informed about the regulatory context in BC and the opportunity to move from ‘awareness to action’ to capture and utilize rainwater where it falls.”

The team of Kirk Stinchcombe, Carolyn Drugge and Richard Boase will speak to the benefits of utilizing rainwater as a resource in the urban environment.

“The City of Vancouver’s Embracing Seasonal Rainwater Project is not the fabled silver-bullet solution to addressing system capacity or climate change adaptation issues; but it does have the potential to address multiple objectives in making communities more livable over the long term. Embracing Seasonal Rainwater is designed to see how much of the peak storm flow we can attenuate during rain events in an effort to provide a low-cost increase in system capacity while engaging residents in their role in the urban water cycle,” states Carolyn Drugge.

“Water demand management has come a long way. Community-based social marketing practices are taking hold; volumetric pricing is becoming the norm; and Canadians are more conscious of their water use behaviour. But what does the future hold?,” asks Kirk Stinchcombe. “Integrated Marketing Communications (ICM) can mean conservation campaigns that are coordinated and systematically planned in previously unimagined ways.”

“The value of the new module is in large part educational. We see it as a way to raise awareness of the urban water cycle and how this understanding could eventually be applied in practice, especially by those who are involved in the design of infrastructure and communities,” observes Richard Boase. ““The Rainwater Harvesting Module enables the Water Balance Model user to explore the beneficial use of rainwater. In other words, rainwater is a resource and therefore should not be viewed as waste.”

“How are we capturing rainwater and dealing with it properly in a way that not only enhances our urban environment with green and blue spaces, increases biodiversity and actively contributes to Vancouver becoming one of the greenest cities in the world by 2020. Elementary students mainly from Mount Pleasant have learned about streams, created related art projects and a community parade. The St. George Rainway project is meant to be a community-building project as much as it is an engineering project,” explained Shahira Sakiyama.