Convening for Action in British Columbia

‘Level-of-Service’ is the integrator for everything that local governments do. What level of service does a community wish to provide, and what level can it afford? Everyone will have to make level-of-service choices. “People ‘hear’ the word ‘deficit’ and assume the accountants will fix it all. But people ‘listen’ to the word ‘liability’ and often ask questions or realize some action is necessary,” states Wally Wells.

“We incur a deficit when we spend more than we have or OVERSPEND. But our problem with our infrastructure is we spend less than we should or we UNDERSPEND. So we are really creating a negative legacy or Infrastructure LIABILITY. It is not a deficit,” states Wally Wells.

“We are now at a point where the work that that has taken place under the auspices of the BCWWA Water Sustainability Committee is making an obvious difference. While still much remains to be done, this is an appropriate time to acknowledge and celebrate your accomplishments,” wrote Daisy Foster.

“It is a great resource, well written. Down to earth, and in line with what the Water Sustainability Action Plan speaks about… The new business as usual, connecting the dots and giving useful tools and roadmaps for success. It is an easy read, and captivating with the stories, quotes and pictures,” states Kathy Bishop.

“In 2005, we said that the Guidebook would be the ‘telling of the stories’ of how change is being implemented on-the-ground in BC. Before the chapters could be written, however, the regional case studies had to run their course,” states Glen Brown.

“Each of the seven chapters in ‘Beyond the Guidebook 2010’ is complemented by a number of supporting documents that elaborate on aspects of on-the-ground successes in British Columbia. In total, there are 41 resource documents. All are downloadable from waterbucket.ca website,” states Mike Tanner.

“We are moving from guidelines to tools. It helps to look back to understand how we got to here. Beyond the Guidebook 2007 represents the initial course correction in applying the Urban Stormwater Guidelines and Best Management Practices for Protection of Fish and Fish Habitat, Draft Discussion Document,” stated Corino Salomi.

“So many in local government are searching for the magical ‘silver bullet’to resolve watershed issues and challenges. Yet soil, vegetation and trees can do more for our watersheds than decades of planning, consulting and complicated engineering design will ever achieve,” states Richard Boase.

“An essential part of the plan for ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Water Balance Model is the creation of a legal entity where the tool will reside permanently. This action has now been completed,” reports Ted van der Gulik.

“It takes time to change the local government culture. BC communities now have the tools and the case study experience to ‘design with nature’. British Columbia is at a tipping point. Beyond the Guidebook 2010 sets the stage for ensuring that future settlement change (development) is in balance with ecology,” states Ted van der Gulik.