CASE STUDY FOR LIVING WATER SMART: Demonstrating a Regional Team Approach in the Comox Valley – theme for 2009 Learning Lunch Seminar Series was “Getting Ahead of the Wave”, hosted by Comox Valley Regional District

NOTE TO READERS:

Following release of Living Water Smart in 2008, the government of British Columbia maintained livingwatersmart.ca as a stand-alone portal to support the Living Water Smart program. Implementation was a provincial government priority that involved 11 ministries and many water and land managers and users.  

In the early years, the Living Water Smart portal showcased the stories of those leading change on the  ground in British Columbia. Some projects were complete, or had a short life of two to three years, while other commitments were to be implemented over a much longer time period. The article below was posted on the Living Water Smart website.

On the BC Ministry of Environment website (in 2020), Living Water Smart is now just a dropdown under the topic area “Water Planning and Strategies”. This reflects the fact that Living Water Smart way-of-thinking is fully integrated into the business as usual.

Vancouver island - location map (360p)

2009 Learning Lunch Series

The Comox Valley is demonstrating a ‘regional team approach’ because 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. In 2009, the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) hosted the second annual Comox Valley Learning Lunch Seminar Series.

The 2009 Series was a collaboration of four local governments in the Comox Valley, the Comox Valley Land Trust, Convening for Action on Vancouver Island (CAVI), the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia, the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia, the Green Infrastructure Partnership and two provincial Ministries.

Getting Ahead of the Wave

Kevin lorette - cvrd (120p)“The Series theme, Getting Ahead of the Wave, defined what we wished to accomplished in building on the foundation provided by the 2008 Series,” states Kevin Lorette, General Manager of the CVRD’s Property Services Branch.

“We view the 2009 Series as our springboard to advance integration of current Comox Valley regional initiatives in 2010. These include a Regional Growth Strategy, Regional Sustainability Strategy, Regional Water Supply Strategy and Regional Sewer Master Plan.

Integrated Watershed Approach to Settlement

“The Comox Valley is a desirable place in which to live. The resulting development activity and population growth is putting extreme pressure on our regional water Marc rutten (120p) - comox valley rdresources, both in terms of protecting water supply sources and preventing rainwater runoff impacts in streams and rivers,” continues Marc Rutten, CVRD Senior Manager of Engineering.

“It is therefore in the best interests of valley residents that the four local governments and the Comox Valley Land Trust collaborate to achieve an integrated watershed approach to settlement, which was the end goal of the Learning Lunch Series.”

Connecting the Dots

Mike zbarsky (120p) - comox valley regional district“From the bulk water supply perspective, a goal is to balance the need to save money on water system infrastructure while ensuring source capacity for continued population growth. Reducing wasteful outdoor water use holds the key to achieving this goal,” adds Michael Zbarsky, CVRD Engineering Analyst.

“Green infrastructure is a means to this end. So, in terms of Win/Win synergies, the way to look at it is that an efficient and effective regional water supply depends on land development practices in all Comox Valley communities achieving common water sustainability objectives.”

“Connecting these dots leads into the relevance of the Comox Valley as a case study on how to meet the commitments and targets in Living Water Smart. One of the targets is that fifty percent of new municipal water needs will be acquired through conservation by 2020.”

Living Water Smart Target

2009 comox valley water efficiency plan - cover (160p)How, and how well we collaboratively deal with water-centric issues, has a bearing on our ability to move forward effectively with integrated implementation on other fronts. Our Water Efficiency Plan, adopted in September 2009, provides a timely illustration of how Comox Valley local governments are now working together at the regional scale in order to come up with consistent implementation strategies at the local scale.”

“Our target is a 27% reduction in total water use by 2014. Getting there goes well beyond the usual indoor water saving measures. It entails accelerating the current momentum for changing what we do on and to the land,” concludes Michael Zbarsky.

2009 comox valley seminar series - getting ahead of the wave

Posted January 2010