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“The keynote presentation by Kim Stephens was a highlight of the day,” reports Melissa Dick, Coordinator for the Coquitlam River Watershed Roundtable. “The messages he shared about what happens on the land matters, and the steps needed to succeed at convening for action, resounded well with the Roundtable participants. His support for the Community Meeting and his contributions throughout the day were very much appreciated.”

“Think about when cathedrals were built a thousand years ago. They took 100 years, and sometimes up to 200 years, to build,” stated Kim Stephens. “So, what it meant was – when people started on those projects, they knew that they would not see the end. But they still committed to doing it. We can learn from them. In the era of the 8-second attention span, it is the opposite end of the spectrum to say that we have to think inter-generationally and be serious about it.”

“The Stormwater Guidebook set in motion a chain of outcomes that has resulted in BC being recognized internationally as a leader in implementing a natural systems approach to rainwater management in the urban environment,” stated Minister of Environment Barry Penner in 2007. “The Convening for Action initiative creates an opportunity to move beyond rainwater management to embrace all components of the water cycle through integrated water management.”

“Across this province there is a movement taking place within the stewardship sector. The key is how the stewardship sector partners with local government,” stated Kim Stephens. “An informed stewardship sector may prove to be the difference-maker that accelerates implementation of the whole-system, water balance approach. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone really understood what it means to think and act like a watershed.”

“Land and water are connected in a watershed, with the resulting impact being due to cumulative effects of impervious surfaces from individual properties,” stated Julie Wilson. “The redevelopment cycle presents an opportunity to reduce these effects. Use of the Express tool can help to illustrate these dynamics in greater detail, and can give homeowners and developers opportunities to explore alternative designs to improve water balance on a property.”

Australian researchers compiled urban data analytics across three different suburbs in Sydney, Australia, and found that for every 10 per cent increase in the canopy coverage within the street corridor, the value of properties increased by an average of $50,000 Australian. In addition – “Our report found that without sufficient ‘green infrastructure’ Sydney would be hotter, more polluted and could be worth $50 billion less,” stated James Rosenwax.

“We need to draw community attention to the tangible things that all residents can do to support sustainable watersheds. Their cumulative beneficial actions will lead to good habitat and fish will thrive, if given a chance,” stated Glen Parker. “We cannot overlook the political nature of decisions in our communities. The workshop, kicked off by political representatives, helps reinforce the belief with our leaders that watersheds matter.”

“Interflow is often the dominant drainage path in glaciated landscapes of British Columbia. Even undeveloped sites founded on till and bedrock rarely show overland flow because of interflow pathways. The lesson is that the interflow system is an incredibly important and yet fragile component of a watershed. It is critical for maintaining stream health and our fishery resource,” stated Alan Jonsson of DFO.

“We are looking at the water cycle with fresh eyes to develop new approaches, methodologies and tools,” stated Kim Stephens. “The genesis for these methodologies and tools goes back 15, 20 years. It has been a building blocks process as we work towards restoration of the water balance in urban watersheds. For the past 18 months, we have been using the terminology of Sustainable Watershed Systems for the purposes of advancing a different way of doing business.”

“Many years ago, the province established a set of criteria which determined the level of drainage improvements that were deemed to be acceptable in terms of cost-benefit, and the ability to pay,” explains Ted van der Gulik. “The supporting analysis optimized the relationship between agricultural return on production and cost of drainage infrastructure investment. These have come to be known as ARDSA criteria. ”