Vancouver Island Water

GEORGIA BASIN INTER-REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE: “In a meeting with Assistant Deputy Minister Jim Mattison in 2005, Premier Gordon Campbell gave the team our marching orders. So began the creation of Living Water Smart. Leading up to 2008, we were on a fast track,” recalled Lynn Kriwoken, former Executive Director in the Ministry of Environment

Note to Reader:

Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. Stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective and Context for Busy Reader, and the Story Behind the Story.

The edition published on April 22, 2025 featured Lynn Kriwoken, recipient of the Partnership’s Watershed Moments Award for her unwavering vision and courage as champion for development and implementation of Living Water Smart. Premier Gordon Campbell wanted a “plan to lead the world in water management, the best bar none.” Lynn delivered. Living Water Smart is an idea that has a life beyond a date-stamped plan. Below is the Story Behind the Story.

Lynn Kriwoken, Living Water Smart champion

“For well over 20 years, I have been a colleague of Lynn Kriwoken through our collaboration under the Partnership umbrella,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director. “Moreover, it was Lynn’s commitment that gave life to the Partnership in 2003. When she was an Executive Director in the Ministry of Environment, her vision and support made it possible for me to develop and lead the Water Sustainability Action Plan.”

“In government, Lynn was a leader who made a difference behind the scenes with her vision and ability to make things happen. She was the Living Water Smart champion, and her passion and leadership drove it.”

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: A conversation with Lynn Kriwoken, champion for Living Water Smart in BC

The story behind the story is structured in three parts. In Part One, Lynn Kriwoken explains why the Living Water Smart idea transcends government and is standing the test of time. The values and imagine statements that inspired the vision for Living Water Smart are timeless, she emphasizes.

In Part Two, Lynn Kriwoken reveals the never-before-told-story of how the idea for Living Water Smart emerged after a difficult period in provincial government history. Premier Gordon Campbell gave Lynn and her team the mandate to be bold and innovative.

Part Three unveils the legacy resource that Lynn Kriwoken created, with help from graphic designer Carina-Marie Nilsson, to illustrate the history of water management in British Columbia. It tells the story of the drivers, milestones and programs over 150 years, and is sprinkled with Lynn’s journey and learnings along the way.

PART ONE – Living Water Smart is an idea that has a life beyond a date-stamped plan

“We took a different approach with Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan. Rather than a boring, bureaucratic plan that starts with a vision, mission, goals, actions and words and more words…we started with a design,” states Lynn Kriwoken.

DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE Living Water Smart book

A dynamo team created a compelling story

“There was a lot of involvement from the Premier’s Office and back and forth. The rest is history. It was a different approach for government in the way we designed and developed that plan and the uptake on the message.”

Why the Living Water Smart story lives on

“Living Water Smart has lived on but it is not ‘Living Water Smart the plan’ that lives on. What has stood the test of time is the story of what it means to do business differently and live water smart. The VALUES and IMAGINE statements are timeless. They are the essence of the Living Water Smart story.”

Living Water Smart as an idea transcends government

“Let’s be clear. Living Water Smart was a government commitment plan, 17 years ago with 50 commitments signed off by the Premier and Environment Minister of the day. Many public servants have worked over many years to deliver on those commitments.”

“The story of Living Water Smart is not just about the plan. That was the plan then; in 2025, it is dated. No government is going to resurrect that plan because that was date stamped for that administration.”

What matters is the imagine storyline

“But what I am really pleased about is that the imagine storyline has stood the test of time. And I am sure those statements still resonate with many. Everybody pulled a piece of yarn out of that plan and knit a sweater.”

“It is the story that lives on and is transferable to anyone who picks up the Living Water Smart book and wants to use it. We built that plan based on a format and the stories. It was quite unique for government at the time.”

“Today there are different pressures and stressors on all those aspects of how water is used and abused. The Living Water Smart book is the story of water. Here are the values. Here is THE IMAGINE. There is a continuum from there to where we are now.”

A message that continues to resonate

“Living Water Smart is a timeless story about the value of water in all its forms and its message continues to resonate with people today. It is not just about the plan per se and the government commitments at the time. It is about the timeless story that inspires and educates others about water.”

PART TWO – Living Water Smart resulted from a mandate to be bold and innovative

“My story behind the story of how the Living Water Smart book came to be starts when I returned to work from maternity leave in 2001. A Liberal government led by Gordon Campbell was elected in May 2001 and proceeded to cut the public service by 40 percent. It was a difficult time,” continues Lynn Kriwoken.

“We spent the first four years of the first Campbell mandate reeling from cuts and pulling programs back together. By 2005, the government had done the rationalization of reducing the public service.”

“After their re-election, the government created a Water Stewardship Division in the Ministry of Environment. That had never been done before. It was a single division with headquarters staff in Victoria and regional staff throughout BC. This brought water together organizationally and operationally.”

Premier Gordon Campbell was British Columbia’s water champion, bar none

“That was 2005. We spent the next three years in the Watershed Stewardship Division churning out plans. I don’t think the government was clear on exactly what they wanted. But they would know when they saw it.”

“In a meeting with Assistant Deputy Minister Jim Mattison, Premier Campbell gave the team our marching orders. So began the creation of Living Water Smart. Leading up to 2008, we were on a fast track.”

“Delivery on the some of the commitments has waned over the years. We went through so many ministers, deputy ministers and assistant deputy ministers during my time in leading the development and implementation of Living Water Smart.”

Someone has to keep their eye on the prize

“Often in government…with reorganizations every four years…it is too easy during change to throw your pencils and books down, stop in the middle of a meeting and say now what. And then wait for someone to say what to do. Briefing up on what we were doing and why became more important than ever.”

Role of the Partnership for Water Sustainability as an implementation arm for Living Water Smart

“Living Water Smart was broad sweeping. And a lot of commitments were across regulatory reform, business change, conservation, and the built environment. The latter is where the Partnership came in as the implementation arm for two of five themes, outreach and community planning.”

“Our Ministry’s priority was the legislative reform. In 2008, the recession was not a great time to introduce Living Water Smart, a lofty water plan. We knew that rather than spread ourselves too thin, we had to hunker down and start writing and consulting on discussion papers to inform what eventually would become the Water Sustainability Act.”

Convening for action in British Columbia:

“What I saw was that the Partnership for Water Sustainability was ready to pick up some of the commitments around choosing to be water smart. The Partnership sphere of responsibility was the municipal context and included preparing communities for change, whereas doing business differently was around regulation.”

“The Partnership became an important implementation arm on that one facet of the plan. Co-funded by the Province and the Real Estate Foundation, the Partnership led convening for action programs in the Lower Mainland, on Vancouver Island and in the Okanagan about choosing to be water smart.”

“Is this real? Yes, it is real. And soon we start seeing the Living Water Smart book in council rooms and in planning meetings. It was easy for them to leverage this little book to say, this makes sense and this is where we are going and this is what other local governments are doing.”

“It is about doing what really matters. That’s an important part of the story of the Partnership. The role played by the Partnership goes beyond mere metrics. It is intangible. It is about believing in what you are doing.”

“It is about testing approaches to doing business differently and choosing to be water smart. That is how the Partnership contributes to Living Water Smart success, then and now.”

PART THREE – We take care of our water, our water takes care of us…

“In government, reorganization, changing priorities and budget cuts are a given, with people asking: what are we doing today and how are we doing it? That detracts and is a huge energy drain on momentum. With perseverance and continuity, however, you see the light at the end of the day.”

“The last thing I did before retiring from government in 2020 was to create a legacy visual illustrating the history of water management in British Columbia. It tells the story of the drivers, milestones and programs over 150 years. And it is sprinkled with my journey and learnings along the way.”

DOWNLOAD A COPY: We take care of our water, our water takes care of us

A concluding perspective

To Learn More:

Waterbucket eNews stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective and Context for Busy Reader, and the Story Behind the Story. To read the complete 3-part storyline, download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Lynn Kriwoken, champion for Living Water Smart.