Water-Centric Planning

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    BRITISH COLUMBIA’S DROUGHT RESPONSE PLAN / 2021 UPDATE: “The Plan has been updated to provide clearer messaging, improved definitions, and include new supplemental drought indicators such as water temperature and air temperature,” stated George Roman, Manager, River Forecast Centre and Flood Safety (May 2021)


    While it rains a lot in BC, communities are typically storage-constrained, and what storage they do have is measured in weeks to months. “The updates to BC’s Drought Response Plan better align the province with North American best practices and include revisions and feedback from public engagements held earlier in 2021. An evaluation of the drought levels trial will be conducted at the end of the 2021 drought season to determine effectiveness. If the new levels are found beneficial, then they will likely become permanent,” stated George Roman.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Given the variability of the factors behind ‘Water Out = Water In’, this relationship always will represent a snap-shot in time as its’ inputs shift, evolve and change over time,” stated Robert Hicks, Senior Engineer with the Metro Vancouver Regional District, when reflecting on how to deal with uncertainty and manage risk (March 2021)


    “A constant challenge for planning is not to prevent past events, but instead is to use past experiences to inform and create flexible strategies for the present and the future. This need for flexibility is not restricted to the immediate scope of the problem at hand; but must also consider the broader juggling of evolving local government priorities and service demands. This leads to the challenge of assessing problems with sufficient complexity to arrive at flexible and resilient solutions, while at the same time not being overwhelmed and paralyzed by over-analysis,” stated Robert Hicks.

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    FLOODS AFFECT SOME OF US. DROUGHTS AFFECT ALL OF US: Have you considered why climate change is a variable, not a driver? “The real issues are uncertainty and risk, more specifically how we deal with the first and manage the latter,” stated Robert Hicks, Metro Vancouver Senior Engineer, at the Achieving Water Balance Workshop which was the launch event for the Convening for Action in British Columbia initiative (April 2005)


    The idea for the deceptively simple Water OUT = Water In equation originated with Robert Hicks. He believed it would be an effective visual means to explain complexity to a continuum of audiences, ranging from technical to elected. “How do you solve the OUT = IN equation when both sides are variable? After all, it is mathematically not possible to solve for two or more unknowns when one has a single equation. The inherent variability creates uncertainty which in turn creates risk,” stated Robert Hicks.

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    ADAPTING TO THE NEW REALITY OF LONGER, DRIER SUMMERS: Unlike other regions and countries, the water supply challenge in British Columbia’s mountainous environment is that seasonal water storage potential is limited – such that there is little margin for operational error even though our droughts are measured in months rather than years!


    “Drought severity in B.C. is currently communicated through four “drought levels”. Because these categories are broad, it makes it difficult to communicate moderate levels of drought, worsening drought conditions over time, or when regions are experiencing abnormal water scarcity. Desired outcomes in going to a 6-level system include better understanding of current conditions, advance warning of extreme drought, and better alignment with other jurisdictions in North America,” stated Julia Berardinucci.

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    CLIMATE CHANGE, POLLUTION AND URBANIZATION THREATEN WATER: “Canada could support the world in achieving water sustainability, but it must first get its own house in order and achieve the UN’s water goals nationally,” urge Corinne Schuster-Wallace, Robert Sandford and Stephanie Merrill in an op-ed (February 2020)


    “Canada already has the expertise, technologies, industries and research capacity to make good on a commitment to water sustainability and universal achievement of the UN’s water goals for all Canadians. But it needs leadership to advance research and practice to expand our existing strengths, and export these internationally,” wrote Corinne Schuster-Wallace. “Canadian research institutions have a role to play in bringing the country together by showing Canada and the world the solutions and benefits of achieving these goals.”

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    AMAZON FIRES ARE CAUSING GLACIERS TO MELT EVEN FASTER: “Currently, the climate models used to predict the future melting of glaciers in the Andes do not incorporate black carbon; this is likely causing the rate of glacial melt to be underestimated in many current assessments,” wrote Matthew Harris, PhD Researcher, Keele University Ice Lab


    “Despite being invisible to the naked eye, black carbon particles affect the ability of the snow to reflect incoming sunlight, a phenomenon known as “albedo”. Similar to how a dark-coloured car will heat up more quickly in direct sunlight when compared with a light-coloured one, glaciers covered by black carbon particles will absorb more heat, and thus melt faster,” stated Matthew Harris. “With communities reliant on glaciers for water, work examining complex forces like black carbon is needed more now than ever before.”

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    INTERWEAVE INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE & WESTERN SCIENCE: “Indigenous knowledge is an essential asset for communities to adapt to climate change, by knowing the land, using the local natural resources, sharing capital, and taking a community approach to local issues,” stated Dr. Mylène Ratelle, University of Waterloo


    “Indigenous groups in northern Canada, with their traditional interpersonal networks and social initiatives, seem to have developed a unique structure to cope with climate change and environmental stressors without relying on federal or local policies and infrastructure. Based on this, it seems that one way to enhance peoples’ resilience to climate change is to improve the social capital — or social networks — of populations,” stated Mylène Ratelle.

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    WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM SEA LEVELS 125,000 YEARS IN THE PAST: “Our research reveals that ice melt in the last interglacial period caused global seas to rise about 10 metres above the present level. The ice melted first in Antarctica, then a few thousand years later in Greenland,” stated Dr. Fiona Hibbert, Australian National University


    “What is striking about the last interglacial record is how high and quickly sea level rose above present levels. Temperatures during the last interglacial were similar to those projected for the near future, which means melting polar ice sheets will likely affect future sea levels far more dramatically than anticipated to date,” stated Fiona Hibbert. “This means that if climate change continues unabated, Earth’s past dramatic sea level rise could be a small taste of what’s to come.”

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    SOUTH AFRICA’S REAL WATER CRISIS: “It is easy to blame climate change for water problems. Yet it is by no means certain that climate change will dramatically reduce water supplies,” wrote Mike Muller, a former Director General of the South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry


    “The different challenges faced in different places may look like a single crisis. But the fact is that the underlying problems are often not the same,” wrote Mike Muller. “What is clear is that South Africa’s not yet confronting an absolute water shortage. But the extent of public panic suggests a disturbing level of ignorance about how water is made available and what needs to be done to ensure adequate and reliable supplies. The key to this water security is for government and citizens to understand and manage what the country has.”

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    THREE WAYS CANADA’S CITIES CAN PREPARE FOR CLIMATE EMERGENCIES: “Resilience is rapidly becoming a buzzword that’s at risk of losing its meaning,” wrote Dr. Darby McGrath and her Brock University co-authors


    “We define resilience thinking as an approach that recognizes the complex interactions between society and our ecosystems, embraces the idea of change and acknowledges uncertainty. Resilience thinking requires acknowledgement from municipal governments that climate-related changes may be unanticipated and sometimes catastrophic. With resilience thinking, however, we can move forward with solutions that allow municipalities to continue to flourish despite changes we anticipate and those that surprise us.’

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