Vancouver Island Water

banner

Tag:

asset management for sustainable service delivery

    PARTNERSHIP FOR WATER SUSTAINABILITY PASSES ECOLOGICAL ACOUNTING BATON TO VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY: “I just wish that partnerships like this existed among all research projects. Unfortunately, they do not,” stated Graham Sakaki, Regional Research Institute Manager


    “There are lots of partnerships that exist for selfish reasons. But the EAP Partnership is selfless, and from all angles. It is a leap of faith for member local governments. Partnership for Water Sustainability commitment to passing the baton is unwavering. The EAP Partnership was set up in a really unique, really valuable and viable way right from the beginning. The Partnership for Water Sustainability made the connections to the three local governments. Vancouver Island University, as a smaller university, is very focused on applied research and community engagement. This is a good fit for the EAP mission,” stated Graham Sakaki.

    Read Article

    MOVING TOWARDS WATER BALANCE: “Budgets can be aligned with best practices, ecological know-how and boots in the stream to steward the critical infrastructure that is our watersheds,” stated Paul Chapman, Executive Director, Nanaimo & Area Land Trust


    “Our discussions lead to an expanded common vocabulary. Sustainable Service Delivery, Eco-Assets and Eco-Asset Management, the Ecological Accounting Process, Municipal Natural Asset Inventory, Riparian Deficit, and watershed stewardship are some of the words in our new common tongue. The rabid environmentalist, the cold-hearted accountant and the aloof engineer could come together and focus on a common goal – Water Balance. At a very key level, it is about our relationship with water and with each other. We design and build our communities based on our relationship to water,” stated Paul Chapman.

    Read Article

    MOVING TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE SERVICE DELIVERY IN THE COMOX VALLEY: “Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery is much more than setting some money aside for infrastructure replacement. It must be a comprehensive and integrated approach that links the past, present and future,” stated Geoff Garbutt, City of Manager, City of Courtenay


    “In my mind, the phrase Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery is a euphemism for make the right decisions, think about the future, and then take action. It has got to evolve because the future is NOT the past. We also need to adapt moving forward. So, that means Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery has got to reflect where the community is going as well. If you are only going to make decisions that maintain your assets as they are, that is insufficient. The process needs to evolve to meet the community’s changing needs,” stated Geoff Garbutt.

    Read Article

    COMMITMENT TO A CAREER IN ONE PLACE: “Philosophically the Official Community Plan is very important to me. It ties together where Courtenay is going. We are on a new path,” stated Nancy Gothard, Manager of Community and Sustainability Planning with the City of Courtenay


    “My commitment is to the community that I love and so my career strategy has been different. It has meant I may not grow as quickly as I could, but in the passage of time I feel rewarded for staying with one organization. We are currently experiencing rapid change in our organization and priorities. With all this change there is a need for institutional memory to provide stability, insight, and rapid response to these new opportunities. Now that I have evolved into a more senior role, I feel the strategy of commitment and patience is allowing me to contribute more decisively and effectively,” stated Nancy Gothard.

    Read Article

    GEORGIA BASIN INTER-REGIONAL EDUCATION INITIATIVE: “The IREI is a unique mechanism for growing a network based on shared aspirations and delivering results across organizational boundaries. It differs in every way from building an organization in any conventional sense,” stated Derek Richmond, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC


    The pressing need for timely, affordable, and effective solutions is the driver for the IREI. A goal of collaboration is to build local government capacity, capability, and competence to deliver on expectations. The IREI program brings the right people together in constructive ways with good information, such that they create authentic visions and strategies. “The Ambassadors Program complements the IREI Program and is emerging as a foundation piece for inter-generational collaboration. This was the breakthrough to articulate our need for succession planning and sustainability of the network,” stated Derek Richmond.

    Read Article

    WATER SUSTAINABILITY AND ASSET MANAGEMENT ARE INEXTRICABLY LINKED: “Our understanding of water balance as a point to build relationships continues to grow,” stated Paul Chapman, Chair of the Watershed Moments Symposia Series on Vancouver Island (November 2022)


    “Our understanding of ‘water balance’ has grown beyond the graphics of how water travels across a landscape, is absorbed or taken up to be distributed again. Water balance at a very key level is about our relationship with water and with each other. We design and build our communities based on our relationship to water. Our neighbourhoods arise from this relationship. Resilient communities will embrace the language and lessons of Sustainable Service Delivery and Eco-Asset Management. Budgets can be aligned with ecological know-how and boots in the stream to steward the critical infrastructure that is our watersheds,” stated Paul Chapman.

    Read Article

    GEORGIA BASIN INTER-REGIONAL EDUCATION INITIATIVE: “By accounting for and integrating the services that nature provides, communities can achieve the goal of Sustainable Service Delivery for watershed systems,” stated Liam Edwards, (a former) Executive Director with BC Ministry of Municipal Affairs, when Beyond the Guidebook 2015 was released


    ‘Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery: A BC Framework’ makes the link between local government services, the infrastructure that supports the delivery of those services, and watershed health. “The BC Framework points the way to integration of natural systems and climate change thinking into asset management. Resilient cities will be the ones that can absorb water and manage the water cycle as a closed loop,” stated Liam Edwards. The BC Framework provides context for the Ecological Accounting Process for operationalizing natural asset management.

    Read Article

    BEYOND THE GUIDEBOOK 2022 / FINANCIAL CASE FOR STREAMS: “In the process of completing the Ecological Accounting Process for the Millstone River, everyone became versed in the common language of natural assets and can now bring that forward in the ongoing collaborative work ahead,” stated Julie Pisani, Program Coordinator for the Nanaimo region’s Drinking Water & Watershed Protection Program


    “The Millstone River EAP project brought together municipal and regional interests, community stewardship sector perspectives and academic research capabilities. Not only were we able to assign a proxy value to the riparian corridor land area, but we also connected this to an understanding of the integrity of its current condition — and compared a riparian deficit to an infrastructure deficit / liability. This is a powerful communication tool to elevate the importance of local policies and investment to protect and restore riparian areas for the benefit of our communities,” stated Julie Pisani.

    Read Article

    FINANCIAL CASE FOR BOWKER CREEK DAYLIGHTING: “Asset management and ecological frameworks are merging closer than ever before,” stated Lesley Hatch, Senior Manager of Water Resources with the District of Saanich, when the Partnership of Water Sustainability released its report on the sixth in the series of EAP demonstration application projects undertaken as part of a multi-year program of applied research (October 2021)


    EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, has been applied to the 100-Year Action Plan for daylighting Bowker Creek. “This is good news as Saanich continues to catalogue and valuate storm water natural assets with the intent of establishing resources to steward both hard, linear infrastructure and natural systems alike. Modern asset methodologies can sync well with other frameworks, such as EAP, which provides additional tools and metrics to improve maintenance and management across the District, and in collaboration with our regional partners on such initiatives as the Bowker Creek Initiative,” stated Lesley Hatch.

    Read Article

    FLASHBACK TO 2019: “We have moved beyond continuing education solely for the purpose of professional development. We are exploring what implementation of regional policy means on the ground,” stated Glenn Westendorp when he reflected on the collaborative framework for the Comox Valley Learning Lunch Seminar Series


    From 2008 onwards, Glenn Westendorp was an enthusiastic player in the CAVI-Convening for Action on Vancouver Island initiative as a member of the CAVI-Comox Valley Regional Team. In 2019, he retired from local government as Superintendent of Public Works with the Town of Comox. Upon retirement, and to recognize his sustained commitment to the Living Water Smart vision, the Partnership for Water Sustainability honoured Glenn Westendorp with Lifetime Member status for his help in demonstrating the benefits of the ‘regional team approach’ in the Comox Valley.

    Read Article

    Next Page >