Water-Centric Planning

LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “On election day in British Columbia, an atmospheric river deluged Metro Vancouver and parts of the province’s south coast. Flooding was widespread across the Lower Mainland,” stated Kim Stephens of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia

November 26, 2024 - Posted in Living Water Smart in BC, Living Water Smart: The Series, published in 2024

Note to Reader:

Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on November 26, 2024 is the announcement of record for release of the Synopsis of the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver from 1994 through 2024.

DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/gi/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/11/Metro-Van-Chronicle_Synopsis_DRAFT_Nov2024.pdf

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

“The week after the election day flooding, I contributed to a special 3-hour workshop meeting of the Liquid Waste Committee. In my remarks, I stressed that we could learn from Indigenous peoples. They understand that water and land are inseparable just like you cannot separate blood from the body. But we have forgotten that,” states Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

“I closed on a note of optimism: Experience in the 2000s demonstrates the benefits and impact when the Metro Vancouver Regional District has a budget plus plays a leadership role in facilitating a regional team approach, one that strives for livable communities while protecting people, property and habitat.”

Editor’s Perspective in the “Synopsis of the Chronicle” is reproduced as follows:

“Writing the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver is my way of giving back. It is the third in a series of retrospectives that bring to life an exciting period in local government convening for action history.”

“The series is a volunteer effort. It is at the heart of my commitment to tell the stories of champions in five regional districts. Thanks to their unwavering support and enthusiasm, we embarked upon the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Education Initiative in 2012. Now we are in Year 13 and counting!”

“In Metro Vancouver, the regulatory requirement in the late 1990s that the region have a Liquid Waste Management Plan (LWMP) was the catalyst for rainwater management innovation. The LWMP is a unifying thread for the Chronicle.”

“Of relevance to my story is that I was the chair of the advisory panel for the region’s second LWMP in 2010. With an update underway in early 2023, Metro Vancouver staff reached out to me for historical perspective on the “streams and trees” component of the LWMP. This evolved into a knowledge-sharing process.”

“What did you learn along the way, they would ask, and where did that lead each time. Because of their questions, what started out as a chronology of events grew into something much bigger in scope. The Chronicle is a tome!”

“Their questions prompted me to dig deeper and distil, distil, distil. For the past two years, I have been doing “story behind the story” interviews for the Chronicle. With each interview, I gained more and more insight into my own lived experience. The passage of time does provide perspective. Themes emerged.”

“Next, I had to find a way to distil and communicate three decades into an easy-to-tell story of how the region got to where we are today. The companion images below help do that. Four distinct eras define the past three decades, with the period of time for each varying between 6 and 9 years.”

“Experience shows that nine cascading factors are critical to success. ALL MUST BE IN ALGIGNMENT to effect change. Over time, the region has regressed from a situation where many things were in alignment to one where few are in alignment. A post-pandemic reality is organizational amnesia!”