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“It can be daunting, particularly in small communities with limited staff. That’s why you need to start small. Just jump in and get going. Pick one aspect to focus on and start with a plan. One of the first things I do in any community is start with the education – from the inside out. We can’t embrace Asset Management if our decision-makers don’t know what it is, why it’s necessary, and how it will benefit our community,” stated Doug Allin. “It all starts with a conversation, and asking: Is that what we want for our community?”

“In the recent past, our approach to infrastructure renewal was closer to a policy of Disaster Response than a systematic strategy to upgrade our essential services based on a comprehensive plan,” stated Mayor Kathy Moore. “But as part of its overall strategic plan, the current council has been undergoing a process to address asset management. That process has included an organizational assessment that allowed the city to “develop a clear understanding of where the organization needs to build Asset Management Capacity over the next two to seven years.”

“Lack of data and certainty has not stopped municipalities from providing services, managing their assets, and making effective and efficient use of their scarce resources. Extreme weather and future climate uncertainty is another variable to consider; but where to start? There are no reasons not to consider climate uncertainty in asset management. Ultimately, the focus is on the service and the community, and ensuring critical assets maintain functionality during the extreme event, and recover quickly any functionality lost!”

“By providing a value for the land underlying the stream and riparian zone, stakeholders have a much more realistic idea of the worth of ecological services,” stated Tim Pringle. “This form of financial information can then be used by local government to develop strategies guided by ‘Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery: A BC Framework’.” A key message, he said, is to draw a distinction between maintenance and management. “Maintenance prevents degradation, whereas management is about enhancement,” he said.

“We’re very pleased to have been selected for a natural asset pilot project here in Courtenay, and it puts us on the leading edge nationally for this approach,” noted David Allen. “We’ve already seen the effects of several floods in low-lying areas in recent years, and it makes sense to maximize the potential of our natural environment to reduce the potential impact of these events on residents and businesses.”

“Among land and drainage practitioners, how water gets to a stream and how long it takes is not well understood. Unintended consequences of this failure to ‘get it right’ include degraded urban streams, more flooding, more stream erosion, less streamflow when needed most, and an unfunded infrastructure liability,” states Kim Stephens. “In 2006, American engineer and textbook author Andy Reese coined the term voodoo hydrology to both describe drainage practice and draw attention to the need for changing the way drainage engineers practice their trade.”

“The partnership brings together core groups, all with a strong commitment individually and collectively to asset management,” stated Wally Wells. “Over several years, the knowledge base of asset management increased and was shared primarily through Asset Management BC (AM BC), including the development of tools and offering training programs. As asset management became a requirement in funding programs, AM BC became the focus for information including the core BC document ‘Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery: A BC Framework’. “

“Hydrologists and water managers can help build a brighter future by rediscovering the meaning of water, and interweaving the predominant Western analytical models with the more intuitive indigenous models. Blue Ecology’s philosophy is meant to be the bridge between these two cultural ways of knowing,” stated Michael Blackstock. He developed Blue Ecology, an ecological philosophy that is recognized by UNESCO.

“The BC Framework sets a strategic direction that refocuses business processes on outcomes that reduce life-cycle costs and risks. It links local government services, infrastructure that supports service delivery, and watershed health,” stated the Hon. Peter Fassbender, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. “The program goals for the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Education Initiative are aligned with this strategic direction.”

“As we learn more about what influences early salmon life history, stewardship groups are asking questions of their local governments about the linkages between small stream habitat destruction and land developments. Now, the scope of their involvement and influence is expanding beyond the creek channel,” stated Peter Law. “Looking ahead, an informed stewardship sector could help accelerate implementation of the whole-system approach.”