WATER FOR LIFE & LIVELIHOODS ON VANCOUVER ISLAND: Nanaimo Region Water Pricing Workshop will connect dots that achieve a larger end
FOURTH ANNOUNCEMENT: Focus on Regional District of Nanaimo’s Action for Water
In September 2010, the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) is hosting Worth Every Penny: An Introduction to Conservation-Oriented Water Pricing and Sustainable Service Delivery.
“The desired outcome for the workshop is that participating practitioners will understand why ‘conservation-oriented water pricing’ is a tool to achieve a larger end,” states John Finnie, General Manager of Regional & Community Utilities with the RDN. He is also Chair of Convening for Action on Vancouver Island, known by the acronym CAVI.
“We will also be bringing forward the Water for Life and Livelihoods branding that reminds everyone about the holistic nature of what we are doing,” continues Kim Stephens, Program Coordinator for the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia. He will be the workshop moderator.
To Learn More:
To download a poster that is complete with pre-registration information, click on How you can register to participate in “Worth Every Penny: A Learning Lunch Workshop”
For details of the actual program, click on Draft Agenda for Nanaimo Water Pricing Workshop
Water for Life and Livelihoods
“The Water Pricing Workshop comprises two parts. The morning session is built around Oliver Brandes and Kirk Stinchcombe and their new publication, Worth Every Penny. The afternoon session will build on themes introduced in the morning, with emphasis on the RDN’s Action for Water and the Province’s vision for Sustainable Service Delivery,” continues Kim Stephens.
“To emphasize the broader context and larger end, we have framed the afternoon session as Water for Life and Livelihoods on Vancouver Island. This is especially relevant to the RDN’s Action for Water because that program is comprehensive and holistic in scope, and is keyed to integration of water and land planning.”
“Unveiled in 2006 at the Whistler Mini-Summit, the phrase ‘water for life and livelihoods’ resonates. It conveys the fundamental principles of sustainability of natural systems in their own right, and in relation to the health and wellbeing of people who benefit from the use of water for basic life needs and economic activity.”
“Once there is a clear understanding of a region’s water resources, where they are changing and why…then land use planning and development standards can be appropriately and effectively modified,” concludes Kim Stephens.
To Learn More: Click on Water for Life and Livelihoods: How does a community balance settlement change and ecology? to download a PDF of an article by Tim Principle, Director of Special Programs with the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia.
RDN Action for Water
“The significance of the RDN’s Action for Water is that we have established a provincial precedent by creating a drinking water and watershed protection service area with taxation authority in an electoral area,” states Mike Donnelly, Manager of Water Services with the RDN.
“A growing population combined with known negative impacts created the need to tackle issues of groundwater depletion, stream degradation, surface water contamination and the changes climate change will bring.”
“Following the successful November 2008 referendum, the Drinking Water & Watershed Protection program is being implemented over time to help address issues associated with impacts on the region’s water resources and to improve our approach to land use that would then assist in reducing further degradation.”
“Program implementation includes water pricing. It is one tool. For this reason, we describe pricing as a ‘dropdown’ within the overall water management strategy. We put considerable effort into designing a ‘user pays’ rate structure that is fair and equitable.”
Water Pricing Experience
“On September 9th, my focus will be on our water pricing experience, our goals, how we developed our approach, key factors we considered, etc. I will tie in Action for Water by illustrating the connection between conservation, providing for future growth and the ecological impacts of water consumption.”
“To stimulate the town hall sharing and learning, my lead-in presentation will emphasize the practical nature of the pricing component. My hope is that workshop attendees will see they may take away some key thoughts and approaches to their pricing strategy development. I anticipate what I have to say will tie in well with Kirk and Oliver’s messaging from the morning session.”
To Learn More: To inform the public during the 2008 referendum, the RDN developed a 12-minute video to explain the need for Action for Water in the regional district and why action is needed now.
