Convening for Action in British Columbia

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Communicating with Plain Language is a Guiding Principle,” released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in September 2021


    “By focusing on Vancouver, New York City, Auckland, Sydney, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam I plan to capture a global picture. One area I am particularly interested in is communication, or the lack thereof. In the sciences, one of the largest challenges to research is science communication. A lot of fantastic studies are misinterpreted outside of scientific circles because the language, style and meaning of science writing is very different to non-specialists. With climate change studies, this can lead to a serious disconnect between climate change policy and the supporting research,” stated Charles Axelsson.

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    WATCH THE VIDEO: “The Partnership for Water Sustainability has its roots in government – provincial, federal, and most importantly, local government. Over three decades, the Partnership has evolved – from a technical committee in the 1990s,to a water roundtable in the first decade of the 2000s, to a legal entity in 2010,” stated Kim Stephens, Partnership Executive Director, in his remarks as part of the Bowen Island Climate Conversation (July 2021)


    “Incorporation of the Partnership for Water Sustainability as a non-profit society allows us to carry on the Living Water Smart mission. We are growing a network, not building an organization. In terms of my professional career as a water resource engineer and planner, I have been in the right place at the right time, and with the right people. In a nutshell, my responsibilities revolve around delivering the Water Sustainability Action Plan through partnerships and collaboration, through a local government network,” stated Kim Stephens.

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    ARTICLE: “Restore the Balance in Water Balance – Climate Change is Another Variable When Planning for Sustainable Service Delivery, Dealing With Uncertainty, and Managing Risk,” (Asset Management BC Newsletter, Summer 2021)


    “A constant challenge for planning is not to prevent past events, but instead is to use past experiences to inform and create flexible strategies for the present and the future. Furthermore, this need for flexibility is not restricted to the immediate scope of the problem at hand; but must also consider the broader juggling of evolving local government priorities and service demands. This leads to the challenge of assessing problems with sufficient complexity to arrive at flexible and resilient solutions, while at the same time not being overwhelmed and paralyzed by over-analysis,” stated Robert Hicks.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Dealing with Uncertainty and Managing Risk” (May 2021)


    “Climate change is not a driver; rather, it is a variable. Furthermore, climate change is only one factor to consider when we talk about sustainable infrastructure and sustainable water supply. The real issues are uncertainty and risk, more specifically how we deal with the first and manage the latter. The need for flexibility is not restricted to the immediate scope of the problem at hand; but must also consider the broader juggling of evolving local government priorities and service demands,” stated Robert Hicks.

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    ACHIEVING WATER BALANCE: Drought, forest fires and floods in 2003 created a “teachable year” for change in British Columbia, got the ball rolling for the Convening for Action in British Columbia initiative, and led directly to the “Water OUT = Water IN” paradigm-shift for water supply management in a changing climate (April 2005)


    In 2004, the Water Sustainability Action Plan and the Provincial Drought Forum generated the momentum within the provincial government to organize the Achieving Water Balance Workshop in 2005. “The severe drought of 2003 in British Columbia is evidence that the historical approach of supply management for water resources is not sufficient,” stated Jim Mattison. Lavishly high volumes of per capita water use, continued community and economic expansion, plus baseline environmental needs were all competing for their share of BC’s finite, but renewable, water resources. The era of supply-side management was drawing to a close.

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    RESTORE THE BALANCE IN THE WATER BALANCE: “In 2005, the year after release of the Water Sustainability Action Plan, the Province and Partnership co-hosted the launch event for the Convening for Action in British Columbia initiative. The event also allowed the Province to fulfil a commitment flowing from the 2004 Drought Forum,” stated Kim Stephens


    “Held in Penticton, the workshop pointed the way forward to the next paradigm-shift in water supply management. Designed as a technical transfer session, it shone the spotlight on the Water OUT = Water IN way-of-thinking. Context is everything. In 2005, BC was early in the second decade of water conservation to reduce demand on supply systems. The ‘Penticton Workshop’ was the first milestone in a multi-year process to raise awareness among water decision-makers that ensuring a safe and adequate water supply depends on understanding the science behind the OUT = IN equation,” stated Kim Stephens.

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    DOWNLOAD THE REPORT ON ACHIEVING WATER BALANCE: “Conventional water supply planning is typically based on a narrow understanding of engineering statistics without really understanding the role that climate variability plays,” stated Robert Hicks, program content co-developer for the workshop that launched the Convening for Action in British Columbia initiative (April 2005)


    The workshop was organized in two parts and the presentations were cascading in order to elaborate on the OUT = IN theme. In the morning session the focus was on concepts and success stories related to Building Resiliency. This provided participants with a mind-map for the afternoon session when they were asked to apply what they had learned in Creating Your Future. “A key message in my presentation revolved around the importance of lingo in communicating with decision-makers, and how messages can easily be lost in translation when language is not used effectively,” stated Robert Hicks.

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    AT THE PENTICTON DROUGHT FORUM: “The severe drought of 2003 in British Columbia is evidence that the historical approach of supply management for water resources is not sufficient,” stated Jim Mattison, Executive Director, Land and Water British Columbia (July 2004)


    “To address this issue the Deputy Ministers’ Committee on Drought was formed in August 2003, followed by the creation of a Drought Management Action Plan. One important component of the Action Plan is the development of the document, Dealing with Drought: A Handbook for Water Suppliers in British Columbia,” stated Jim Mattison. Lavishly high volumes of per capita water use, continued community and economic expansion, plus baseline environmental needs were all competing for their share of BC’s finite, but renewable, water resources. The era of supply-side management was drawing to a close.

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    AT THE PENTICTON DROUGHT FORUM: “The forecast suggests that we’re in for another hot and dry summer. The funding we’re providing is designed to ensure that as many communities as possible have prepared water management plans and are prepared for the summer ahead,” stated Bill Barisoff, BC Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection (July 2004)


    In 2003, 25 per cent of water supply systems were stressed and two thirds brought in water restrictions to ensure continued supply. “Supporting local governments is a fundamental part of our plan, given their key roles as water managers, their familiarity with community water supplies and their ability to put in place water restrictions .Last year, a number of our communities experienced water shortages and we want to make sure they have the tools and the resources they need, this summer and beyond, if these conditions persist ,” stated Bill Barissoff.

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    DOWNLOAD: Water Stewardship in a Changing Climate – Vancouver Island Symposia Series At a Glance (released January 2020)


    The first two symposia were held in Nanaimo (2018) and Parksville (2019), respectively. The third is in the Comox Valley (2020). “The Symposia programs are built around success stories – inspirational in nature, local in scale, and precedent-setting in scope and outcome. In short, these precedents can be replicated and/or adapted in other communities,” stated Paul Chapman. “The symposium format provides a neutral forum for local elected representatives, local government staff, stewardship groups and others to ‘convene for action’ to improve where we live.”

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