Vancouver Island Water

The American Clean Water Act turned 40 years old in October 2012. “Urban waterways have gone from being wastelands to being the center of redevelopment and activity. The end result — waters are more swimmable, fishable and sources of drinking water are more protected,” writes Gregory DiLoreto, ASCE President-elect.

“Our emphasis is on the ‘what would it look like’ details of implementation and integration. Inter-regional collaboration will result in alignment and a consistent approach to rainwater management in a watershed sustainability context. This will help everyone to go farther, more efficiently and effectively,” states Tim Pringle.

“Collaboration among Vancouver Island local governments, Metro Vancouver, and member municipalities has grown steadily. The initiative provides a framework for consistent application of tools and understanding on both sides of the Georgia Basin. Everyone benefits from sharing information and experiences,” states Kim Stephens.

“I was the Ministry of Environment guy who was actually trying to enforce environmental regulations here on Vancouver Island. It became obvious to me that to go after land development violations, one guilty plea at a time, just was not going to make a difference. We needed another approach,” stated Peter Law.

“The Forum has two” halves: first, LOOK BACK at what has been accomplished by the CAVI initiative over the past six years; then, LOOK AHEAD to paint a picture of settlement,ecology and economy in balance. Commencing in 2007, the CAVI experience demonstrates how to move from awareness to action on-the-ground in the local government setting,” explains Kim Stephens.

“Today was a fascinating discussion which covered, from a university perspective, pretty well every faculty that we have at VIU: from history to philosophy to science. And of course, there was our discussion about values. All in all, I found it to be a very stimulating discussion. It was a very inclusive type of format, one which really encouraged debate and discussion AND inclusiveness,” stated Dan Hurley.

“This sesson was probably the highlight of the Summit. The format was excellent and very inclusive. It was probably also the best networking opportunity of the two-day summit. What I will do differently is read Eva Kras’s book and endeavour to get more involved with the Partnership for Water Sustainability,” stated Gail Adrienne.

“The value of a Vancouver Island Vision, as well as the purpose of CAVI, is that it provides a vehicle to relay success stories that otherwise might not be shared other than in their immediate locale. Each new initiative builds towards the common objective of creating sustainable communities on Vancouver Island ,” states Eric Bonham.

“If you are going to align efforts on a watershed scale, then getting it right at the front-end means looking beyond your boundaries to envision the bigger picture. In other words, global thinking for local action. It means you are communicating and cooperating with others to ensure that your collaborative results are coordinated in a timely manner,” explained Derek Richmond.

“The Guidebook has a strong educational approach because it recognizes that this is going to take time; it is not going to be top-down; and in fact it is going to require a bottom-up approach in order to be successful. This is a case of educating everyone in the process, from the backhoe operator right up to the smalltown politician,” stated Peter Law.