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“Living Water Smart provides British Columbians with a vision of what the regions of our province can look like if local governments prepare communities for climate change, choose to be water smart, and strive to achieve settlement change in balance with ecology. The Action Plan partners are playing a key delivery role. In effect, the Action Plan partners are functioning as the on-the-ground Living Water Smart implementation arm with local government. The in-kind support from local governments is substantial and growing,” stated Kim Stephens.

“Four of these tools — the Water Balance Model, the Water Conservation Calculator and the two Irrigation Scheduling Calculators — are built on a Universal Calculator technology platform. “We now have the tools that we need to influence practitioner and community behaviour. Also, the programs these tools support are linked. So, in 2010 our mission is to link everything together,” stated Ted van der Gulik.

“The Ministry of Housing and Social Development’s Building and Safety Standards Branch is responding to this commitment through proposed changes to the BC Building Code. The branch also recognized that Code changes alone would not automatically increase the use of non-potable water. The branch is working with several other ministries on a more coordinated regulatory framework that will support increased non-potable water use,” stated Christine Webb.

A key aspect of water governance and participation in decision making is the role and function of planning. Plans can help to integrate the management of water into land management and complement community planning processes and decisions. “A key message in Living Water Smart is that green development makes sense.
New thinking about development leads to new benefits. These include more green spaces, more water and fish in the streams, improved community vitality, reduced demand for water, and reduced expenditures on infrastructure,”stated Lynn Kriwoken.

The Cowichan Valley is a Living Water Smart demonstration region for an inclusive and collaborative approach to building green infrastructure capacity through education and training. “The 2008 Series was the first step in building a regional team approach so that there would be a common understanding and consistent messaging regarding on-the-ground expectations for rainwater management and green infrastructure in the Cowichan Valley,” stated Kate Miller.

The School of Community and Regional Planning at UBC (SCARP) held its 2nd Annual Symposium in March 2010. The theme was Planning for Resilience. “The symposium included a water panel. The focus was on how to change development, water demand and water provision in order to increase resiliency against water crises,” stated Nancy Pepper.

“We approached the program design from a shared responsibility perspective; we explored how policy and legal tools can help developers, regulators and designers collaborate to ensure responsible outcomes. We wanted the policy people to have an appreciation for what is involved in constructing green infrastructure; and we wanted the implementers to understand the goals,” stated Vincent Lalonde.

“The Discussion Paper outlines opportunities for using, sustaining and managing water resources in a changing environment and has been developed to encourage discussion on ways to modernize the Water Act. The way we manage water is everyone’s business and we invite British Columbians to share their views on the ideas and possible solutions presented in the Discussion Paper. Over the coming months we encourage British Columbians to join the discussion about possible solutions,” stated John Slater.

The workshops will share information, discuss principles for a new Water Act, and explore proposals for change.

“These half-day workshops will engage participants in developing a drought plan that will be put into action this coming summer and fall, Drought conditions can impact communities and individuals in many different ways. Previous droughts, including that experienced in southern BC in 2009, highlight the importance of having clear actions and strategies to manage water in times of drought for both water users and aquatic ecosystems.” stated Celine Davis.