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“The Partnership’s outreach spotlight in 2010 was on the rollout of the second in the Beyond the Guidebook series of guidance documents for rainwater management and restoration of hydrologic function in urban watersheds. ‘Beyond the Guidebook 2010’ describes how a ‘convening for action’ culture has taken root in BC. Bringing together local government practitioners in neutral forums has enabled implementers to collaborate as regional teams. How to do it examples help decision-makers visualize what ‘design with nature’ policy goals look like on the ground,” stated Kim Stephens.

“So, why did we choose Bowker Creek, one might ask? The watershed is completely built out, and the creek channel is enclosed in pipes for two-thirds of its length. We thought of it as a learning opportunity. If we can do it in Bowker, we can do it in any creek in the region. There had been a lot of work done by the community to raise awareness. The biggest factor in the decision, however, was the very, very strong contingent in the community that wanted to get a better functioning creek back in their community,” stated Jody Watson.

“My first contact with Buzz Holling was in 1999. An assignment for King County allowed me to delve into the origins of adaptive management, and research experience around the world. Specifically, we were looking for a local government precedent, and there was none. This led me to phone Buzz,” stated Kim Stephens. “In 1999, my Aha Moment was realizing that our cross-border response to the ‘salmon crisis’ in the Pacific Northwest paralleled the efforts of Buzz Holling related to Florida Everglades Restoration.”

“The Dialogue in Nanaimo was structured around a water sustainability panel. Rather than talking heads, the panel engaged in a form of ‘improv theatre’ to feed off each other in spontaneously expressing key messages about water. This primed the audience for ‘small group’ dialogues in eight theme areas. The small groups dialogue were followed by a ‘big group’ dialogue. A lot of ideas and information were generated by the small groups,” stated Kathy Bishop.

“Maintaining a balance between ‘Water OUT’ and ‘Water IN’ is essential because both sides of the equation are variable; and the safety margin is decreasing over time with population growth and water consumption. Conservation-oriented water pricing is also about achieving a balance – that is, a balance between charging enough to cover the cost to operate and maintain the water service, while being substantial enough to provide users with an incentive to curb wasteful water use,” stated John Finnie.

“As we move forward with the Action Plan, it is making sure that we provide the people on the ground with the tools and resources that they need to help support action at the local level. A top-down approach does not work. When a community shows interest or a desire to move something forward, that is when we mobilize. The Action Plan purpose is to engage, listen, understand and support the local interests in moving forward. That is where we have been successful,” stated Glen Brown.

Imagine was the theme for Lynn’s presentation.”What do you imagine for water, both where you live and in your life? It is a tall order for water management in the 21st century, and how we get there? Living Water Smart outlines three key themes for realizing the vision. The first one is doing business differently. By that we mean making changes to the way we regulate and value water; and the way we develop land and communities,” stated Lynn Kriwoken.

“The CAVI initiative and the VIEA entity both have a regional focus within a broader framework of Vancouver Island. Both recognize that partnerships and collaboration are fundamental to success, consisting of a coalition of equals working across jurisdictional boundaries – a coalition that consists of the public and private sectors, and the community. Both understand the need to look at Vancouver as a whole,” stated Eric Bonham.

“In BC we have attempted to change expectations and build practitioner capacity. The Action Plan is a combination of four different streams of effort, ranging from networking to development of web-based tools. To help local governments focus on how move from awareness to action, the Partnership has developed what we call the What / So What / Then What / Now What process. What we have found through experience is the need to provide neutral forums for people to come together. In a neutral forum we can advance a regional team approach,” stated Ray Fung.

“One summer day, as I was on my way to a meeting, I was listening to a discussion on the radio about water conservation. The meeting that day was about rainwater management and the importance of putting water back into the ground for stream protection. It struck me that the same solution applies to water conservation and drought management. The topsoil that absorbs the water in the winter months is the same topsoil that retains water in the summertime so that we can irrigate less; and lawns and gardens would be healthier,” stated Ted van der Gulik.