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asset management for sustainable service delivery

    EMBEDDING A SUSTAINABLE SERVICE DELIVERY CULTURE WITHIN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: “Wally Wells and David Allen are motivated by their shared desire to inspire implementation of organization-wide asset management. They view this outcome as a foundational element of local government in British Columbia,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC


    “The news from Asset Management BC is that Wally Wells has passed the Executive Director baton to David Allen to continue the ‘sustainable service delivery’ mission. This duo will continue their collaboration for the foreseeable future as Asset Management BC builds on the foundation now in place after a decade of hard work and a team effort. With the passing of the baton from Wally to David, having a facilitated conversation provided each with a timely “moment for reflection” on where Asset Management BC has come from and where it is going,” stated Kim Stephens.

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    ARTICLE: “How much should local governments spend each year to reduce the Riparian Deficit?” (Asset Management BC Newsletter, Summer 2022)


    If we know how to do a much better job of protecting ecological features and stream systems in our communities and on our landscape, then why aren’t we doing a better job? Why are streams still degrading? Why do we still see practices that exacerbate the situation? Why is understanding lacking? How do we change that? “I would especially draw your attention to the article. This is a groundbreaking article and one to be specifically noted. The more we get the Asset Management message out the better off we all are,” wrote Wally Wells, Executive Director of Asset Management BC, in his email to newsletter readers.

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    BEYOND THE GUIDEBOOK 2022 / FINANCIAL CASE FOR STREAMS: “Township staff are working on a long-term Ecological Services Initiative program. The Ecological Accounting Process analysis will be used to establish the baseline funding for payment to farmers,” stated Melisa Gunn, Agricultural Planner with the Township of Langley in the Metro Vancouver region, when she explained the rationale for including Bertrand Creek in the Partnership for Water Sustainability’s EAP program


    “To move the Ecological Services Initiative project forward, the Township of Langley was looking for a process that used real numbers to understand how to develop fair and equitable payments to farmers to enhance areas on their properties. Through the EAP work, the concept of ‘Riparian Deficit’ in the natural commons area highlights the shared responsibility of rural and urban landowners to maintain Bertrand Creek, an important asset in the Township. In the future, we can use EAP to expand the program to other watersheds,” stated Melisa Gunn.

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    FINANCIAL CASE FOR STREAMS: “EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, is remarkable in its simplicity and is pragmatic. EAP starts with an understanding of the parcel because that is how communities regulate and plan land use. It is the parcel level where you get the information that you need to change practice to protect natural assets,” stated Tim Pringle, EAP Chair, at the time of release of Beyond the Guidebook 2022


    “The vision for EAP set the challenge: develop a practical methodology, one that would be relevant to local government managers and the community, for determining the monetary value of drainage infrastructure and other services drawn (or adapted) to some degree from ecosystems. Initially, we saw EAP as a tool – that is, the EA Protocol – that would help practitioners calculate the opportunity cost of balancing ecological services with drainage infrastructure. However, the first demonstration applications revealed that the term EA Process more accurately describes the challenge of working with multiple intervenors,” stated Tim Pringle.

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    BEYOND THE GUIDEBOOK 2022 / FINANCIAL CASE FOR STREAMS: If we know how to do a much better job of protecting ecological features and stream systems in our communities and on our landscape, then why aren’t we doing a better job? Why are streams still degrading?


    The process is in motion to operationalize a transition strategy over a 3-year period and initially embed the Ecological Accounting Process (EAP) program in the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute (MABRRI). “We believe that incorporating students from Vancouver Island University and other universities will support understanding and experience within municipal governments on the importance of EAP, and simply understanding EAP. Fortunately, most of VIU’s Master of Community Planning, and Master GIS students find themselves working within municipal governments,” stated Graham Sakaki.

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    ARTICLE: “The Ecological Accounting Process – A BC Collaborative Initiative” (Water Canada magazine, May-June 2022)


    “I reached out to Kim Stephens of the Partnership for Water Sustainability BC with an invitation to share more about the people, policy, and projects in BC, through penning an article for Water Canada magazine and sharing of relevant information. I am very keen on showcasing real world water projects, and the people whose lives they impact, with our national audience. The Ecological Accounting Process is a topic the Water Canada audience would really benefit from and that is why we featured it in the May-June 2022 issue,” stated Jen Smith, magazine editor.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Synthesis Report on Ecological Accounting Process, a BC Strategy for Community Investment in Stream Systems” (released June 2022)


    “Now that we have landed on the Riparian Deficit concept, we are able to reflect on the two issues which provided context for the journey: first, engineering measures are insufficient for stream and riparian protection; and secondly, the link to municipal asset management has not been clear. To reach the destination, we had to address and show how to overcome four challenges: one, a lack of measurable metrics; two, confusion over what is an asset versus a service; three, ignorance about how to quantify the financial value of natural assets with real numbers; and four, numerous one-off projects that fail to build improved asset management practice,” stated Tim Pringle.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: How Much Should Communities Invest in Protection of Stream Systems?” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in June 2022


    “Local governments need real numbers to deliver green infrastructure outcomes. It is that basic. Rhetoric is insufficient. EAP metrics are neither hypothetical nor speculative. They are grounded in the BC Assessment database. EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, is a foundation piece for Asset Management for Sustainable Drainage Service Delivery,” stated Kim Stephens. “Until now, local governments have lacked a pragmatic methodology and meaningful metrics. For those wishing to move from stopgap fixes to long-term solutions, EAP gives them a road map.”

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Integration of Stream Systems into Sustainable Drainage Service Delivery” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in May 2022


    The BC Framework establishes expectations; it does not prescribe solutions. It is a game-changer because it redefines the context for deciding how infrastructure is planned, financed, implemented, and maintained. “It is all about building trust between Council and staff, keeping in mind what can realistically be accomplished by an organization, and being clear about the limitations of the current state-of-practice and knowledge and our ability to explain what the numbers mean in that context,” stated David Allen.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Natural asset management… cutting through the rhetoric” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in May 2022


    “In 2015, the Ecological Accounting Process (EAP) was an idea. The methodology and metrics recognize the importance of the stream in the landscape. It has been a 6-year journey to test, refine and mainstream the EAP methodology and metrics through a building blocks program of applied research. EAP is one of the ‘twin pillars’ for Asset Management for Sustainable Drainage Service Delivery. Water Balance Accounting, pillar number one, addresses changes on the land draining to the stream. Ecological Accounting, pillar number two, addresses changes within a stream corridor. Integration of the two is the goal,” stated Tim Pringle.

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