Archive:

“Asset management is a process for sustainable service delivery. The BC Framework is designed as a wheel as there is a beginning but no end to the process, The role of natural assets in our communities is not well understood. As the AMBC Primer published in 2019 shows, significant work has been done on the integration of natural assets into the overall asset management program,” stated Wally Wells.

“What combination of public self-interest and political lever will it take to effect change? One of my legacy projects illustrates leveraging a political moment to make a difference. My story is about why we got commitment to implement a universal water metering program. Self-interest plus political commitment was more persuasive than language about equity, efficiency and water conservation benefits,” stated Ray Fung.

“Every generation is handed a world that has been shaped by their predecessors – and then seemingly forgets that fact. This blind spot is the reason why a baseline creeps imperceptibly over generations. We transform the world, but we don’t remember it. We adjust our baseline to the new level, and we don’t recall what was there. At the end you want to sustain miserable leftovers,” stated Daniel Pauly.

The latest version of the updated plan was presented to the Liquid Waste Committee in a workshop on October 30, 2024. The feedback was positive, and the workshop participants supported the overall direction of the plan. “The committee motion on November 13, 2024 to endorse the interim draft Liquid Waste Management Plan moves us into phase three of the plan’s review and update process,” stated Peter Navratil.

“The timeline provides a perspective on the Partnership’s commitment to support local government champions who strive to achieve a Watershed Health Legacy. This means apply science-based understanding to develop tools and establish precedents. Learn from experience to successfully implement, through collaboration, an environmentally adaptive approach to community design,” stated Kim Stephens.

“The Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation totals close to 700 pages. It is a tome! Heavy on images and light on text, it is written to serve as a ‘legacy resource’ for the past three decades. To facilitate knowledge transfer, the Chronicle is a layered package comprising four documents. The layered approach is two-way. In one direction, it distils as it cascades. In the other, it delves deeper. The Synopsis is the third layer in the cascade. The Synopsis is visual and so can easily be skimmed in 20 minutes or less. We will release the Chronicle tome in 2025.,” stated Kim Stephens.

“Nine cascading factors must all be in alignment to implement a course correction. All it takes is one factor to be out of alignment and that can be enough to derail a process and progress. At the top of the list is political leadership and commitment. Nothing can happen unless and until an elected leader emerges as THE CHAMPION. The good news is that the region has taken a critical first step. In November, the region’s elected representatives endorsed the Draft Interim Liquid Waste Management Plan. I am optimistic and the path forward looks promising,’ stated Kim Stephens.

“The fertile Fraser Valley is some of the best farmland in Canada and can grow a lot of the food that we need. To get to food security in BC, we need to increase the irrigated area from 200,000 to 300,000 hectares. If we invest in the infrastructure needed to supply water from the Fraser River, one-third of the additional 100,000 could be provided in the Fraser Valley. But we are slowly losing our land base for growing food. And it is not because land is coming out of the Agricultural Land Reserve. Rather, it is all about what is happening on the land within the ALR,” stated Ted van der Gulik.

“We are on the right path. But that path seems to be a path less travelled. While many advances have been made in managing rainwater on-site in BC, we have fallen behind US west coast states in protecting streams and reducing risk. The West Coast experience of Washington State, Oregon and California is a counterweight to those who lean to Ontario and Northeastern USA for their experience. We cannot force the change. The thing that I have found works is RISK MANAGEMENT. If we can get that discussion going, senior people will follow along,” stated Jim Dumont.

“How do we manage the number of people that are moving into the Georgia Basin when we have a very tough geography where the urban space is pretty limited by the sea and the mountains, and by rivers and agricultural land and park wilderness. When you take all that out, there is not a lot of land for urban development and an urban population. We need to act quickly to avoid the situation faced by other large urbanizing regions,” stated Mike Harcourt.