Vancouver Island Water

VIEW MIKE DONNELLY ON YOUTUBE: “The RDN’s Action for Action illustrates the connection between conservation, providing for future growth and the ecological impacts of water consumption,” stated Mike Donnelly at the Worth Every Penny Workshop when he made the connection between water utility pricing and watershed protection (September 2010)

April 14, 2020 - Posted in 2010 Nanaimo Region Water Pricing Workshop, Convening for Action in 2010, Videos on YouTube

Note to Reader:

Held in September 2010, the Nanaimo Region Water Pricing Workshop was described as the first of its kind in Canada. Part of the rollout to stimulate a national dialogue on sustainable water management, the workshop program was a unique blend of research and practice. Also known as the Worth Every Penny Workshop, the program connected the dots between three initiatives:

Action for Water, implemented by the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) following approval in a referendum in November 2008.
Worth Every Penny: A Primer on Conservation-Oriented Water Pricing,released in May 2010.
Beyond the Guidebook 2010: Implementing a New Culture for Urban Watershed Protection and Restoration in British Columbia, released in June 2010.

The Worth Every Penny Primer anchored the morning program. The afternoon session was framed as Water for Life and Livelihoods on Vancouver Island. This title was especially relevant for the presentation by Mike Donnelly on the RDN’s Action for Water program. Comprehensive and holistic in scope, Action of Water was keyed to integration of water and land planning, and precedent-setting in British Columbia.

Water Pricing is a ‘Dropdown’ Within an Overall Strategy

“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,” stated Mike Donnelly, RDN Water Services Manager.