Category:

Convening for Action in 2010

AT THE BOWKER CREEK FORUM: “What does the Bowker Creek Blueprint have in common with the City of Philadelphia’s green infrastructure initiative? What they have in common is peeling back paved surfaces and restoring an absorbent sponge, ” stated Kim Stephens, Partnership for Water Sustainability, when he set the stage for a guided conversation on implementing a new culture for watershed restoration (February 2010)


“It has been interesting to follow the Philadelphia story for the past year because there was skepticism initially. Now we are hearing more and about what Philadelphia is doing. The reason that I wanted to flag the comparison with Philadelphia is that does tell you that the paradigm-shift is coming. As we get the word out as to about the Bowker Creek Blueprint, I believe that people will begin to look at and appreciate what the Bowker Creek Initiative has accomplished on the ground. What is happening in Bowker Creek will begin to inform the Philadelphias of the North American continent,” stated Kim Stephens.

Read Article

A 100-YEAR ACTION PLAN FOR URBAN WATERSHED RESTORATION: “The Bowker Creek Blueprint is about reclaiming ‘lost territory’ from damage caused as a result of our ‘collective indifference’ because we did not consider the values of urban streams important,” stated Eric Bonham in his keynote reflections at the Bowker Creek Forum (February 2010)


“A number of principles apply to the Bowker experience. First, there is the necessity for partnerships and collaboration. Second is the importance of leadership – from the top down; and leadership from the bottom up. Third is a long-term vision, in particular the 100-year timeline. Most important of all is recognizing  the importance of community. This is what distinguishes the Bowker Blueprint from other projects. The Bowker Blueprint has been truly driven by the passion and vision from the community up,” stated Eric Bonham.

Read Article

FLASHBACK TO 2010: What was the genesis of the phrase ‘sustainable service delivery’ a decade ago? What was the process for mainstreaming the approach in British Columbia? How did it become an ‘actionable vision’ for local governments? As an outcome of the Worth Every Penny Workshop, Glen Brown synthesized three ideas into a single easy to remember phrase that became a game-changer!


The 20/80 Rule refers to the initial capital cost of municipal infrastructure being about 20% of the ultimate total cost, with the other 80% being an unfunded liability. “Tackling the unfunded infrastructure liability involves a life-cycle way of thinking about infrastructure needs and how to pay for those needs over time. This holistic approach is described as Sustainable Service Delivery. The link between infrastructure asset management and the protection of a community’s natural resources is an important piece in Sustainable Service Delivery,” stated Glen Brown.

Read Article

VIEW JOHN FINNIE ON YOUTUBE: “Maintaining a balance between ‘Water Out’ and ‘Water In’ is essential because both sides of the equation are variable and the safety margin is decreasing with population growth and water consumption,” stated John Finnie, CAVI Chair, when he opened the Worth Every Penny Workshop which dealt with conservation-oriented water pricing (September 2010)


“Conservation-oriented water pricing is more than just charging more for water to conserve water. It is a balance between charging enough for water so that it imparts a conservation ethic. It is about balancing user rate revenues with taxation revenues in order to ensure that water systems can be adequately maintained. It is also about having a pricing strategy that provides affordable water for basic household use. That said, water pricing is likely one of the most effective water conservation tools that we have when combined with metering,” stated John Finnie.

Read Article

VIEW OLIVER BRANDES & KIRK STINCHCOMBE ON YOUTUBE: “Water pricing is a hot issue in communities across the country. Yet it remains an almost totally untapped option for helping ensure our water service infrastructure — the pipes, pumps and reservoirs — is well maintained and up to date,” stated Kirk Stinchcombe during the Worth Every Penny Workshop which dealt with conservation-oriented water pricing (September 2010)


“If the price signal is correct, and therefore correct, the majority of people and organizations will change they way they value water and change their behaviour – when using water and when buying water-using technologies – because they recognize that efficiency and conservation will save them money, ” stated Kirk Stinchcombe. “When you are thinking about all the considerations that go into water pricing, keep in mind that setting the rate is the key factor. Does the price accurately inform consumers about the costs of their water use and provide a signal that is sufficient to affect their decision making?”

Read Article

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)


“We have established a provincial precedent by creating a drinking water and watershed protection service area with taxation authority in an electoral area. The Drinking Water & Watershed Protection program is being implemented over time to help improve our approach to land use. 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,” stated Mike Donnelly.

Read Article

VIEW WALLY WELLS ON YOUTUBE: “Infrastructure assets only exist to provide a service to the public. Once you have decided to offer the service – define its quality and manage community expectations for the level-of-service,” stated Wally Wells when he explained ‘sustainable service delivery’ at the Worth Every Penny Workshop on conservation-oriented water pricing (September 2010)


“We have had a lot of discussion in integrated asset management around level-of-service. There are some five ways to define level-of-service in the local government setting. One in particular is a policy issue for elected Councils – that is, what level-of-service is a Council prepared to have constituents pay for. Beware of service creep. My experience is that where politicians don’t understand level-of-service, and constituents complain about the level-of-service, the next thing you know politicians are pushing for an increase in level-of-service. It is very difficult to decrease service once a level is established,” stated Wally Wells.

Read Article

FLASHBACK TO 2010: Water Sustainability -“Everything we have heard today fits in like a glove with what we are going to do with this next effort at the Vancouver Island Summit,” stated Eric Bonham in his closing remarks at the Nanaimo Region Water Pricing Workshop held in the City of Parksville, the venue for roll-out of the Worth Every Penny Primer on Conversation-Oriented Water Pricing, and the launch of a national dialogue


“It was Gandhi who said you must be the change that you wish to see in the world. That is the part that we must all play. We all bring our little bit of talent to the table, to look at Vancouver Island as a test case to show the world how we can collaborate and pull things together. Looking ahead to the Vancouver Island Summit, it is about inspiring action and leadership for water sustainability on the island. As we have heard time and time again, if we do not get the water part right, we are in trouble,” stated Eric Bonham.

Read Article

FLASHBACK TO 2010: “Home Depot in the City of Courtenay established a BC precedent when it implemented a deep deep-well system for injecting rainwater runoff and recharging the underlying groundwater aquifer,” stated the City’s Kevin Lagan when he shared the story with a provincial audience at the ‘From Rain to Resource Workshop’ hosted by the Okanagan Basin Water Board


“In 2003, the Home Depot development application in the City of Courtenay was to build a store and parking lot covering 90% of a four hectare second growth coniferous forest property,” stated Kevin Lagan. “The City required that post-development rainwater and stormwater flows leaving the site were equal to or less than the pre-development flows. For this property that was effectively zero.” Kevin Lagan described how the developer met this requirement of replacing a forest with impervious areas, and that the solution was successful.

Read Article

Convening for Action on Vancouver Island – Year 4 (2010)


“Local governments are demonstrating what can be accomplished through partnerships and collaboration. Moving from awareness to action is ultimately keyed to a ‘regional team approach’ that is founded on shared responsibility,” stated John Finnie. “A convergence of interests has created an opportunity for all the players to set their sights on the common good, challenge the old barriers of jurisdictional interests, and make water sustainability real.”

Read Article