Water-Centric Planning

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Bill Sims

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “We have created a high level of service that we cannot possibly sustain. We must temper expectations and shift the public’s understanding of the services they receive,” stated Bill Sims, freshly retired General Manager of Engineering and Public Works (City of Nanaimo)


    “Most folks in local government understand the nature of the asset management problem. But councils have a short-term focus on what can be built during their term. Underground infrastructure or asset management is boring to them. Yet it is so core to the functioning of any government. We are building more new things as demanded by a growing community. The register of municipal assets is becoming more and more valuable. But the revenue from development cost charges and user rates is not enough to cover asset renewal. And so, the infrastructure gap grows,” stated Bill Sims.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Storytelling is among the oldest forms of communication,” stated Professor Rives Collins, author of ‘The Power of Story: Teaching Through Storytelling’ (2024 Series Season Finale in December)


    We share our world view through our stories and storytelling This is how we pass on our oral history. Storytelling is the way we share intergenerational knowledge, experience and wisdom. “Storytelling is the commonality of all human beings, in all places, in all times,” stated Professor Rives Collins, Northwestern University, author of “The Power of Story: Teaching Through Storytelling”.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “The 3-year transition strategy for embedding the Ecological Accounting Process at Vancouver Island University has multiple layers and partnerships and there are many moving parts to keep in balance,” stated Anna Lawrence, Program Coordinator for the EAP Transition Strategy Partnership


    ‘”The Departure Creek project in the City of Nanaimo was an exciting analysis because we gained insight into social perceptions of the worth of the creek. This was an add-on layer to the EAP technical analysis. We were fortunate that Departure Creek has a strong stewardship group,” stated Anna Lawrence “During this 3-year transition strategy, we are really delving into how can EAP be used, and why and how it is useful. Now that I am immersed in it, I like the fact that each creek has a different angle that you can work with…each with a different context, different people, different story.”

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “People who live, work and play on the traditional territory of the Snuneymuxw people are committed to this community, this place and each other,” stated the City of Nanaimo’s Bill Sims, General Manager of Engineering & Public Works


    “The Midtown Gateway Project in the City of Nanaimo is transforming a legacy brownfield site impacted by past industrial activity into a revitalized neighbourhood gateway. It features new complete street transportation corridors, a restored and naturalized wetland with public walking trails, and enhanced access to the city’s premier recreation complex. The project started as a how do we fix a traffic problem. The question was, how do we improve this property so that the city can use it for traffic as well as create some good in the world? This is a case of a number of staff coming together and saying how do we do this, and how do we do it right,” stated Bill Sims.

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