Water-Centric Planning

“The edition of Waterbucket eNews published on October 21, 2025 is about profiles in courage. It featured two individuals: former BC cabinet minister Mike Morris; and University of British Columbia professor Dr. Younes Alila. The story behind the story is about how they have aligned efforts to build awareness of Dr. Alila’s Flood Risk Methodology for flood protection. Their compelling message is that removal of forest cover, whether in rural or urban watersheds, increases the frequency, magnitude, duration and liability of floods,” stated Kim Stephens.

“Politics prevents you from doing the right thing because of the political lens that is put on everything. It was frustrating when I tried to bring the reality of the clearcut logging situation before my colleagues. And getting ignored because it did not fit the political agenda. Nobody seemed to care about the science. In the political world, it is based on whatever the flavour of the month is rather than what is right. Politicians ignore what they do not understand. By ignoring the consequences of clearcut logging, they put themselves in a pretty serious predicament,” stated Mike Morris.

“Evapotranspiration is necessary but not sufficient to empower the forest and affect hydrology in general and floods and droughts in particular. This can only be revealed through a probabilistic framework. Thinking like a system means you do not make decisions at the site scale. It is not about a particular stream reach or cross-section, or a bridge or a culvert. You need to step back and look at the big picture. You need to look at the entire stream network and what these flows are doing OVER TIME…AND IN THE LANDSCAPE OF THE WATERSHED,” stated Younes Alila.

“It took us eight years to get Kelowna’s first Water Security Plan across the finish line. We define our responsibilities within this plan. We looked through a One Water lens to address community needs and responsibilities. Our community must be consistent in its response and actions. First Nations, other communities, we all share the lake. But not all have the resources we have at the City of Kelowna. We felt it important to lead by example. We have accomplished something special. I see it. Others see it. This plan is critical for the growth of the city,” stated Rod MacLean.

Christina Gemino breaks new ground with her master’s thesis titled “The Silent Death of Agriculture in Metro Vancouver”. Using data from the provincial Agricultural Land Inventory (ALI) program, she draws attention to the consequential impacts of non-sanctioned (aka illegal) changes in how agricultural land is used and abused. “The non-sanctioned expansion of industrial use on agricultural land was a factor that drove my research. This can mean a lot of things. These uses can forever change the agricultural land base,” stated Christina Gemino.

“I have always believed that BC has perhaps the world’s finest wild river heritage. We have amazing waterways in our province. I have long written articles for academic and technical audiences. After I wrote my first children’s book, I began to wonder whether I could write a book that would introduce the allure and magic of rivers to a broader audience that perhaps I had not reached before. The reason for publishing my book River Magic in 2025 is that it is in concert with the 20th anniversary of World Rivers Day which was inspired by BC Rivers Day,” explained Mark Angelo.

In the story behind the story, Mark Angelo explains why his title is River Magic; why the Fraser River is the heart and soul of BC; and why Guichon Creek in Burnaby shows never give up. “The Fraser River has been such a big part of my life and a river that is dear to my heart. In 1975, I spent the entire summer paddling down the entire 1375-kilometre length of the Fraser River. I was so enamoured with the river, its powers, its beauty, its diversity. Ever since, I have referred to and felt passionately about the Fraser River as literally the heart and soul of BC,: stated Mark Angelo.

The Partnership embarked on a multi-year transition strategy in 2023. The strategy is designed to achieve two outcomes in sequence. The Partnership continues to add to the leadership team; has crafted what the Partnership and network would look like after 2025; and recognized and acted on the need to accelerate the strategy to put in place leadership for 2028 and beyond. To achieve our intergenerational mission through the network, the Partnership launched the Ambassadors Program in 2021. The ambassadors are the bridges across boundaries.

In 2020, Todd Pugh of CivicInfo BC had an idea for a feature called Civic Voices. This inspired the Partnership for Water Sustainability to run with the idea of stories behind the stories. “The idea is pretty simple. We run a lot of municipal press releases, but there are deeper stories to be told. We want thoughtful columns that highlight interesting ideas, concepts, or experiences. In short, we would love to hear about the journey – a behind-the-scenes story, from a first-person perspective,” stated Todd.

A look into the future by Jay Bradley in 2007 has proven prescient in foreshadowing what is happening in the post-COVID era. “What happens if lessons we are learning are not passed on and are lost when there is an exodus of experienced people with deep knowledge and understanding? What then? It takes a career to figure this stuff out,” he said. Jay Bradley’s quote nails the nub of one of the challenges of our time. Loss of understanding;. Never has storytelling been more important than it is today. And that is because knowledge is being lost at an alarming rate.