Parksville 2019 on YouTube > Watershed Health and You – “After the Arrowsmith Dam was built, most of the time we have been able to stay above the minimum fisheries baseflow requirement which establishes an operating rule for the Englishman River Water Service,” stated Vaughan Figueira, City of Parksville’s Director of Engineering (April 2019)
Note to Reader:
The Parksville 2019 Symposium has been captured in its entirety in a comprehensive set of videos that have been uploaded to the Partnership for Water Sustainability’s YouTube Channel for ease of access by those who are curious and/or interested to learn about what transpired on April 2-3-4 in Parksville, British Columbia.
Module B on Day One was titled ‘Watershed Health and You’. A 5-person team primed the audience with overview-type presentations. The Englishman River was selected as the Day One panel theme because it is a great story of long-term collaboration; and with the MVIHES stewardship group playing a catalyst role to facilitate restorative outcomes.
VAUGHAN FIGUEIRA’S TOPIC: A Balancing Act – Regional Bulk Water Supply Needs & Environmental Flow Requirements to Sustain Aquatic Resources.
In addition to Vaughan Figueira (municipal water supply), the panel comprised Peter Law (stream stewardship), Gilles Wendling (surface water-groundwater interaction), Domenico Iannidinardo (forestry), and Julie Pisani (water quality).
“The Englishman River Water Service is a joint venture between the City of Parksville and the Regional District of Nanaimo. It comprises the 20-yr old Arrowsmith Dam, a new river intake (2018) and a water treatment facility (2019). System operation is guided by this statement: An environmentally sensitive use of water to improve fish habitat and domestic water supply,” stated Vaughan Figueira.
“The impact of wetter winters and drier summers on the seasonal water balance creates operational challenges in sustaining environmental flows.”
View Vaughan Figueira’s 9-minute presentation:
What Do You Wonder?
The story of Parksville 2019 is told in a magazine-style narrative titled “RE-CAP AND REFLECTIONS”.
The “re-cap and reflections” document was written for two audiences – first and foremost, for those who attended Parksville 2019 and wish to have an accessible and quotable reference document at their fingertips, so that they can share the story with others; and secondarily, for those who have heard about Parksville 2019 and are curious to learn more about the ‘story behind the story’, so that they may understand why this event represents a watershed moment for so many who were there.
About Parksville 2019
Close to 200 delegates attended this 3-day event. Parksville 2019 comprised a field day followed by a 2-day symposium. The program objectives for Parksville 2019 helped to inform and establish expectations. It was a matter of providing context and then being clear and succinct about the desired takeaways.
To provide relevance for streamkeepers, the theme for Day One was Sustainable Stream Restoration. To capture the attention of those in local government, the theme for Day Two was Restorative Land Development.
To Learn More:
Download a PDF copy of the Re-Cap and Reflections document at: https://waterbucket.ca/viw/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/Parksville-Symposium_re-cap-and-reflections_May2019.pdf
Download a PDF copy of the presentation by Vaughan Figueira titled: A Balancing Act – Regional Bulk Water Supply Needs & Environmental Flow Requirements to Sustain Aquatic Resources.
