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“Beyond the Guidebook 2015 concludes with the concept of Twin Pillars of Stream System Integrity. One pillar is Water Balance Accounting and the other is Ecological Accounting. In 2015, we introduced EAP as an idea whose time had come. We linked it to asset management because viewing the watershed through an asset management lens shines the spotlight on why ‘cost avoidance’ is a driver for local governments to require that land development practices mimic the Water Balance. A decade later, it was time for a dedicated EAP home on waterbucket.ca,” stated Kim Stephens.

“Nature is a system, you cannot slice and dice it. When streams are sliced and diced, consequences follow – erosion, flood damage, loss of property enjoyment, diminished aquatic habitat. There will be no stream to produce ecological services if land use intensity destroys riparian conditions. EAP provides a number that communities need to include streams in budgets for asset management and tackle Riparian Deficits. EAP builds on the ‘big idea’ that use and conservation of land are equal values. EAP provides a value picture of a stream system as a land use,” stated Tim Pringle.

“The starting point for EAP is Natural Asset Management. We are taking a spatial approach. We deal with parcels which is as spatial as you can get. We need readers to understand that in order for EAP to be real to them. It lets local governments know the financial value of their streams as a Natural Commons Asset. Next, we are moving EAP from a primary emphasis on Asset Management to use by planners for spatial analysis related to streams and trees. As we evolve EAP through more projects, we will be able to say here are rules of thumb for planners,” stated Tim Pringle.

“In 2016, the Partnership embarked upon a 6-year program of applied research to evolve EAP through a 3-stage building blocks process of testing, refining, and mainstreaming the methodology and metrics for financial valuation of stream systems. The program involved 9 case studies and 13 local governments and yielded 19 “big ideas” or foundational concepts. The program goal was to answer the question, how much should communities budget each year for maintenance and management of stream systems,” stated Tim Pringle.