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Living Water Smart

    FLASHBACK TO 2010 ANNUAL UBCM CONVENTION: “The philosophy behind the Water Sustainability Action Plan is quite simple: bring local and regional stakeholders together where there is a desire and energy to make some form of change,” stated Glen Brown at a study session for elected representatives when he provided a provincial perspective on a ‘top-down & bottom-up’ strategy for urban watershed restoration


    “As we move forward with the Action Plan, it is making sure that we provide the people on the ground with the tools and resources that they need to help support action at the local level. A top-down approach does not work. When a community shows interest or a desire to move something forward, that is when we mobilize. The Action Plan purpose is to engage, listen, understand and support the local interests in moving forward. That is where we have been successful,” stated Glen Brown.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Adapting Asset Management to Climate Realities” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in November 2021


    “For asset management, the consideration is how and when assets might be compromised in their lifecycle by climate change and certainly that new assets need to consider what climate change impacts will affect their lifecycle and levels-of-service. Framing climate change impacts this way does not clearly align the changes to asset performance. But what if the scenarios are reframed with the uncertainty being the timeframe that a threshold is reached and not the uncertainty of change for a future date?” stated Robert Hicks.

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    CONTEXT AND HISTORY REALLY DO MATTER: “In the moment, extreme events can be overwhelming. But the big picture situation is by no means hopeless. My key message is to view climate change as another variable, not a driver. Understand the system context because climate adaptation is about water, whereas climate mitigation is about carbon,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC (Sept 2021)


    “The risks are real. Droughts affect all of us. BC is on fire and streams are drying up. We do not have the luxury of time to implement solutions. And we certainly cannot afford to reinvent the wheel due to generational and/or corporate amnesia. Context and history really do matter because it takes a career to develop perspective and understanding of what works and what does not. Because there is no silver bullet, communities need to do many little things to adapt to the new climate reality,” stated Kim Stephens.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA – THE SERIES: “Water literacy is key to building a stewardship ethic. It is about understanding where our water comes from and caring where it goes,” stated Lynn Kriwoken, (retired) Executive Director, BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy


    Each week, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the vision for Living Water Smart. Featured authors explore specific themes, with an objective of helping others make a difference in the communities in which they live. “While legislative reform is a foundation piece, collaboration takes place outside the legislative framework. Living Water Smart is about motivating and inspiring everyone to embrace shared responsibility. Influencing behaviour and attitudes is at the heart of moving from awareness to action,” stated Lynn Kriwoken.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: The Series”, released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in June 2021


    “Each week, from September through June, we celebrate the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the vision for Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan. Feature stories published weekly on Waterbucket eNews constitute a legacy resource. To make them readily accessible and sharable, many of these stories are now downloadable as report-style documents. In the Living Water Smart Series, featured authors explore specific themes, with an objective of helping others make a difference in the communities in which they live,” stated Kim Stephens.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Urban Green Infrastructure Starts with a Rain Garden”, released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in June 2021


    “Whether it’s the community coming together to build rain gardens or adopt catch basins, dedicated volunteer streamkeepers who put in countless hours restoring and protecting important salmon habitat, or government decision-makers and employees enacting policies, everyone has a role to play in advancing Green Infrastructure implementation. There’s more work to be done as we collectively travel along a path to find upstream, proactive solutions to climate change impacts and growing urban centres,” stated Joanna Ashworth.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Integrating Natural Assets into Infrastructure on BC’s Sunshine Coast”, released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in June 2021


    Michael Wall is the Manager of Strategic Initiatives and Asset Management at qathet Regional District. On one of Michael’s projects in 2020, the team was presented with an $850,000 engineered solution to manage runoff at the landfill closure site. Michael and his team questioned the proposed engineered solution and wondered if there may be a way to better use the surrounding forest instead. Michael and a small army of local professionals were able to develop a natural asset solution to manage the landfill runoff. The new green infrastructure plan saved $700,000 of taxpayer money and 0.5 hectares of second growth forest.

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    LANDSCAPE WATER CONSERVATION IN KELOWNA: “The City Utility is excited to promote this online tool (BC Landscape Water Calculator) to our residents. It makes the process of understanding, calculating, and submitting water use reports to the City so much easier and user-friendly,” stated Ed Hoppe, Water Quality and Customer Care Supervisor, City of Kelowna


    “The City’s approval process for integration of landscape and irrigation system design is keyed to three requirements. First, use of turf-grass is limited to a maximum of 60% of the site. Secondly, irrigation systems must be sized so that water use would not exceed the allowable annual water budget. Thirdly, a Landscape Water Conservation Report must be submitted for the City’s approval,” stated Ed Hoppe. “Use of the BC Landscape Water Calculator (to support reporting out) highlights the importance of making conscious water decisions while still making your landscape look fantastic. Win-win for everyone!”

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Operationalizing the BC Landscape Water Calculator”, released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in June 2021


    “In 2011, the City looked at options to reduce peak water demands due to the high cost of a new water source. This included conservation, optimizing existing sources and system efficiencies. Several different conservation programs were explored, one of the programs implemented was a voluntary program for irrigation and landscape water efficiency. The solution to our need was the BC Landscape Water Calculator. Homeowners can now provide us with a report that shows how their choice of water efficient plants and landscape design meets their water budget,” stated Amy Peters.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Columbia Basin Water Hub”, released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in June 2021


    “In response to a 2017 Columbia Basin Trust report that pointed to the need for a coordinated monitoring effort and central data repository in the Upper Columbia Basin, Living Lakes Canada organized a conference in late 2017 that was attended by water data experts from across North America who discussed the democratization of data, the merits of open source, and the need for a water monitoring framework for the region,” stated Nicole Trigg. Launched in March 2021, the Columbia Basin Water Hub will make critical water data readily available to decision makers.

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