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Comox Valley local governments are aligning efforts, building leadership capacity and striving for consistency. “The four Comox Valley local governments and the Comox Valley Land Trust are ‘convening for action’ around a water-centric approach to land development,” stated Glenn Westendorp. “All those involved in land development have a role to play in achieving Sustainable Service Delivery. The players include land use and infrastructure professionals.”

“The Water-Wise Guide communicates consistent expectations for how the valley can mitigate environmental concerns,” stated Kris La Rose. “The Guide is a collaboration between all four local governments, MOTI, the stewardship sector and the private sector. It is designed to be visually engaging, easy to read, have front counter ‘branding’ consistent to all four local government planning counters, with tips for applicants on how to prepare successful plans that integrate watershed-based rainwater management strategies and minimize negative impacts on watersheds.”

“The Concept Development Session in September 2011 served as an inaugural meeting of individuals with a role in water and land management. The session purpose was to determine the viability of a regional team approach to water sustainability within the region ,” explained Ron Smith. “The apparent disconnect between water and land management was noted by many participants.”

“Demand for water will only increase as summers get longer, hotter and drier. BC needs 215,000 hectares of irrigated agriculture to feed our current population. With careful planning, the ~28,000 irrigated hectares in the Lower Mainland could be increased to 69,000 hectares at buildout,” stated Ted van der Gulik. These agricultural lands are located approximately half and half in the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley regional districts.

The ‘new normal’ in British Columbia is floods and droughts. What is changing is how and when water arrives. “After a period of relative hydro-climatic stability, changes in the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere have resulted in the acceleration of the global hydrologic cycle with huge implications for every region of the world and every sector of the global economy,” states Bob Sandford.

“BC local governments are faced with three interconnected issues. The first is to manage more effectively infrastructure and assets that underpin quality of life and economic productivity in an era of scarce resources. The second is to contain costs, taxes and risks. The third is to maintain community resilience in the face of challenges, including climatic variability and extremes,” states Kim Stephens.

The event was an opportunity for organizations to highlight tools, resources or other supports they can provide to help local governments to increase capacity and undertake local planning, projects and development. “The UBCM event allowed us to introduce local government elected representatives, especially those elected in the November 2014 election, to the Partnership and to the Water Sustainability Action Plan,” states Mike Tanner.

“Many BC watersheds are either already fully allocated or will be in the next 15 to 20 years. Originally developed for the Okanagan Basin, the Agricultural Water Demand Model is currently operational throughout the southern half of BC. The model is web-based and enables scenario comparisons to assess the implications and impacts of a changing climate, in particular warmer winters and longer summers,” states Ted van der Gulik.

“Some of the most valuable take-aways from the workshop for me personally were the reassurance of community support and motivation. The forward thinking visions were inspiring! As an engineer, the technical tools and charts were certainly of interest to me. The cross-learning between a variety of specialists has remained thought provoking since the workshop, and has resulted in me reaching out to my network already,” stated Yvonne Faas.

“The seminar is an opportunity to share lessons learned by the City of Coquitlam over the past decade. Changing the way we do things means taking on new challenges and not always getting it right the first time. Securing political support for a watershed-based approach to community planning paved the way for development and implementation of rainwater management applications that mimic the Water Balance,” states Melony Burton.