Convening for Action in British Columbia

The Water Sustainability Action Plan is being delivered through partnerships and regional pilot projects and programs. Convening for Action program has evolved into a ‘made in BC’ process for moving British Columbia practitioners from awareness to action. “Through outreach and education, the guiding vision is to influence land and water practitioners to learn about and use practices that better balance the necessary relationships of settlement activity and ecological assets in local and regional landscapes,” explains Glen Brown.

“The Okanagan Basin Water Board is the hub for people to convene around when the topic is water. Its mandate is to communicate and coordinate. In the process, it is tapping into a huge reservoir of volunteers. This is what creates the energy, the will and the momentum to do business differently in the valley,” states Anna Warwick Sears. “The OBWB is a unique form of inter-regional government.”

“We are using the slogan The New Business As Usual to convey the message that, for change to really occur, practices that until now have been viewed as the exception must become the norm moving forward. We have to build regulatory models and develop models of practice and expertise to support The New Business As Usual”, stated Dale Wall.

“Current senior government regulations deal with one contaminant at a time and even though levels may be below some set threshold, the presence of multiple contaminants and their interaction can have impacts on organisms in the long term that are not being considered. The Cautions, Warnings, Triggers process now used by Metro Vancouver focuses mainly on individual contaminants,” stated Ken Hall.

“Fats, oils and grease (FOG) waste discharges from commercial establishments have significant impacts on the capacity and condition of the sanitary sewer collection system, and therefore have substantial cost implications over time. This is the reason why we recommended that the region provide additional financial incentives, enforcement resources and automated monitoring technologies,” stated Garry Cooper.

“Metro Vancouver and its members need to resolve the persistent and costly sanitary “Inflow & Infiltration Issue” by acting on policy and legal tools that enable municipalities to implement timely and appropriate measures on private property,” stated Shaun Carroll.

“The four recommendations by the Reference Panel are intended to help Metro Vancouver create a 'financial road map'. In turn, this will help communicate what is involved in implementing liquid resource management infrastructure in a fair and equitable manner,” stated Mark Hodgson.

“Metro Vancouver Reference Panel recommends establishing a ‘stewarding committee’ to ensure Liquid Resource Management Plan stays true to the vision. There is a need for fresh, objective eyes bolstered by a strong political mandate to keep asking questions, prod Metro Vancouver and members toward the vision, and assist with the waste-to-resource paradigm-shift over time. A ‘stewarding committee’ would play an expert and non-partisan role,” stated Susan Rutherford.

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“The policy framework proposed by the Reference Panel is founded on the premise that the Metro Vancouver region will manage sewage and rainwater as resources, not wastes; and will strive to achieve Integrated Resource Recovery progess incrementally,” stated Elaine Golds.