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Eric Bonham

    FLASHBACK TO 2005: “The District of Highlands is at a critical stage in its development and must clearly identify its future plan regarding density limits and land use planning goals,” stated Eric Bonham, Chair of the Highlands Stewardship Foundation, when he delivered a context presentation for a breakout session at the “Water OUT = Water IN” workshop that launched the Convening for Action in British Columbia initiative (April 2005)


    The challenges facing the District of Highlands provided breakout groups with a case study application – identify key gaps and needs for evolving along the water management continuum and achieving a water balance. “The community has its own vision, united as it is by landscape – rocky uplands and dense coastal forests. This shared terrain has shaped a building and road pattern with a small ‘footprint” on the land, along with a unique rural lifestyle. These values are clearly identified in the Official Community Plan,” explained Eric Bonham.

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    LEADERSHIP FOR WATER SUSTAINABILITY ON VANCOUVER ISLAND: An Inter-Generational Perspective on Reconnecting People, Fish and the Landscape – Eric Bonham, John Finnie and Graeme Bethell shared a vision in 2005 and were leaders of a grass-roots initiative called Meeting of the Minds


    “In 2005, there were a number of initiatives on Vancouver Island that were focusing upon the theme of sustainability. It was a matter of seeking out partnerships to reinforce the common theme of sustainability based upon an island wide communications information exchange network. We did a survey. It was clear that there was widespread interest in holding a workshop that would provide an opportunity for the exchange of information, and to explore the possibility of establishing a communications network for the Vancouver Island region. This resulted in Meeting of the Minds workshops in consecutive years. The rest is history,” stated Graeme Bethell.

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    CONVENING FOR ACTION ON VANCOUVER ISLAND: The first “Meeting of the Minds” forum in 2005 was the first milestone in a process that resulted in the “CAVI, Leadership in Water Sustainability” initiative, launched exactly one year later at a consultation workshop held in conjunction with the Water in the City Conference (September 2006)


    “There were a number of initiatives on Vancouver Island that were focusing upon the theme of sustainability. It was a matter of seeking out partnerships to reinforce the common theme of sustainability based upon an island wide communications information exchange network,” recalled Eric Bonham, the visionary behind Meeting of the Minds. “We did a survey. It was clear that there was widespread interest in holding a workshop that would provide an opportunity for the exchange of information, and to explore the possibility of establishing a communications network for the Vancouver Island region.”

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    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.

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    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.

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    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?”

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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