ARTICLE: Sustaining the Flow of Water Ethics
“It’s important now that we realize that water policy and eff ective improvement of the way we manage water is not merely a government strategy anymore— it has to be a broader societal commitment which includes the average citizen who has an interest in what’s happening in his or her watershed,” says Bob Sandford.
Sustainable Rainwater Management: What Does It Look Like in British Columbia?
“In terms of educational dollars per unit of knowledge, I found the Water Balance Model workshop to be astounding value,” reports Michelle Sorensen. “The graphical results allow me to communicate relevant information about the effectiveness of rainwater capture options.”
Water Sustainability Action Plan inspires action in Dawson Creek, BC
“Local governments are transitioning from simply pumping and treating water to managing earth’s most precious resource. The December 2006 workshop that introduced the City to BC’s Water Sustainability Action Plan was a catalyst for that change. On a personal note, Kim Stephens has been a source of inspiration to me,” stated Emanuel Machado.
Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC connnects water, land and people
“You have to create forums for the conversations that otherwise would not happen,” he says. “You can call a meeting and have people sit around the table, but if they’ve all got their official hats on, you don’t get very far. Creating a situation where you can have a candid conversation is important. “We challenge our audiences, ‘What do we want this place to look like in 50 years?’ Because the decisions we make now about land development will ripple through time,” stated Kim Stephens.
5th Edition of Building SustainAble Communities Conference in Kelowna will showcase Sustainable Water Management in British Columbia
“There is a special day-long session devoted to sustainable water management issues. Six panel sessions will address different aspects of water and provide a broad-brush picture of the innovation that is emerging in British Columbia,” announces Joanne deVries.
Kelowna conference session showcases “Sustainable Rainwater Management in British Columbia”
“The Rainwater Panel will present a series of ‘vignettes’ to showcase the experience of local governments that are BC leaders in innovation. These vignettes will be cascading in providing the audience with a picture of what ‘Sustainable Rainwater Management” looks like at three scales: watershed basin, watershed catchment and project site,” states Ted van der Gulik.
Sustainable Rainwater Management in the District of Sooke: What Does It Look Like?
“The District of Sooke has exceeded provincial requirements for liquid waste management and created a rainwater management plan that makes protecting water quality a guiding principle in land use decisions,” states Laura Byrne. “Because our rainwater management plan is outcome-oriented, it has stayed true to Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia.”
Sustainable Rainwater Management: Okanagan Basin Water Board hosts first in 2012–2013 Series of “Water Balance Model Training Workshops”
“A number of tools, in particular the Water Balance Model, have been created to help municipalities adapt to climate change. The Okanagan Basin Water Board will be hosting a workshop to get these tools in the hands of the people that need them by bringing in the experts to answer questions and provide hands-on training,” announces Anna Warwick Sears
ARTICLE: Connecting Water, Land….and People
“In February 2012, we were pleased to draw attention to the great work of the Partnership for Water Sustainability. The Partnership connects water, land and people. It is demonstrating the effectiveness of a top-down and bottom-up approach to leading change in the local government setting,” states Pia Nagpal.
GUIDANCE DOCUMENT: Primer on Rainwater Management in an Urban Watershed Context (November 2011)
The purpose of the Primer is to provide engineers and non-engineers with a common understanding of how a science-based approach to rainwater management has evolved since the mid-1990s. “Pioneer research yielded guiding principles; these are standing the test of time. Evaluation of, and analyses using, the entire rainfall and stream discharge spectrum allows us to see new connections to stream health and to begin the process of creating effective mitigation strategies,” reports Kim Stephens.