Ministry of Community Development launches Water Conservation Calculator at the Penticton Forum – “Water conservation should be seen as alternative or supplemental to planned infrastructure projects,” stated Liam Edwards (2009)

Tools Help Achieve Living Water Smart Targets

The Province of British Columbia has been developing tools to help communities do business differently, and thereby achieve targets identified in Living Water Smart: BC’s Water Plan.

As part of the 2009 Annual BCWWA Conference, the Penticton Forum on water sustainability will be the venue for the formal launch of the web-based Water Conservation Calculator. This tool has been developed by the Ministry of Community Development to support the infrastructure grant application process. The Province is fostering innovation and integration as well as leveraging change through grants.

About the Water Conservation Calculator

Penticton forum - liam edwards (160p)The Water Conservation Calculator is a decision support tool for water purveyors and small local governments. The web-based calculator can assist in presenting a conservation case to Council and other decision makers,” states Liam Edwards, A/Director in the Infrastructure and Engineering Division at the Ministry of Community Development. “The calculator has evolved from a spreadsheet-tool that the Ministry first pilot-tested with a number of local governments in 2006.”

According to Liam Edwards, the key functions the calculator will provide are:

  • assistance in decision making around new infrastructure (can illustrate the possibility of capital deferment);
  • assistance in more accurately targeting conservation efforts, thereby increasing the cost effectiveness of conservation campaigns;
  • providing useful information about the current state of the water service provider’s system;
  • offering a ‘snap shot’ of future demands and the positive impacts of conservation on those demands; and
  • providing tools and capacity to take positive conservation action.

“Water conservation should be seen as alternative or supplemental to planned infrastructure projects. Conservation is a resource in its own right. It provides safe, clean water that is less costly, and less impactful on the environment than traditional development or upgrade projects. A properly designed conservation program has the ability to extend the life of infrastructure, reduce repair, treatment and power costs, reduce power expenses, and defer or eliminate the need for major capital costs,” concludes Liam Edwards.

The Story of the Penticton Forum

To learn more about the provincial policy framework that provides context for the Water Conservation Calculator, click on Creating Our Future: Today’s Expectations are Tomorrow’s Standards for Living Water Smart to access the fifth in a series of stories about the Penticton Forum program.