Water-Centric Planning

banner

Tag:

living water smart bc

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Provincial staff merit accolades for their diligence and commitment in developing an Act that moves the province in the right direction. The Act provides a new opportunity and framework to collaborate and implement watershed-based solutions,” stated Ted van der Gulik, President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability


    Developing and crafting the Water Sustainability Act was a difficult and challenging job, as there are many views on water. Provincial staff consulted far and wide. The end result is legislation that had broad-based support. There are many water management issues that need to be resolved and the Act established a process that can address many of them. “A decade later, some people have qualms and issues with the Water Sustainability Act. Quite often they are minor things. It is easy to throw darts when you don’t know what you don’t know. That is what I see happening,” stated Ted van der Gulik.

    Read Article

    BRITISH COLUMBIA’S WATER SUSTAINABILITY ACT, UNIQUE AND INNOVATIVE: “Challenges enforcing the 1909 Water Act during times of water shortage informed development of the Water Sustainability Act,” stated Valerie Cameron, a former Deputy Comptroller of Water Rights and regional water manager in the BC provincial government


    “The Water Act had evolved over many years. We recognized the limitations of the Water Act. And I really appreciated that government was willing to go out on a limb to replace it. We looked at replacing priority rights with a different form of water allocation. But the decision was, continue the foundation of priority rights. The WSA respects priority rights BUT there is a provision that if you get into a situation where communities rely on a small amount of water for essential household needs, there is a provision to allow that to happen,” stated Valerie Cameron.

    Read Article

    BRITISH COLUMBIA’S WATER SUSTAINABILITY ACT, UNIQUE AND INNOVATIVE: “British Columbia went from a strictly FITFIR system, first in time first in right, to a hybridized water rights system. What few people realize is how integrated this water rights system really is,” stated Mike Wei, former Deputy Comptroller of Water Rights for groundwater


    “If you were to do a search of hydraulic connection, you would find it worked in through the entire Water Sustainability Act. You cannot impact a stream nor an aquifer hydraulically connected to a stream. But even if the FITFIR system is there, there is still that essential household use and critical environmental flows that need to be protected before you start going down the seniority line to cut water use. So, if there is not enough flow in the stream and the Comptroller sets a critical environmental flow,, that takes priority over the oldest licence,” stated Mike Wei.

    Read Article

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “When we talk about municipal asset management, it is always about having records to pass on. It is great to have documentation but unless the next person or generation has the story that goes with it, there is no context,” stated Arnold Schwabe, Executive Director with Asset Management BC


    “We are adapting asset management to a changing world. One of the big priorities for me this year is to just start bringing Asset Management back to reality. To say, we are all facing the same struggles. Let’s talk about what those struggles are, instead of just believing that we have the solution to it. The theme that I am now promoting is this, just tell us your story because people can learn from stories. It does not have to be perfect. We know it is not perfect. But do not be afraid to tell the story. Passing on knowledge really is about the stories,” stated Arnold Schwabe.

    Read Article

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “The maximum freedom of decision exists, of course, when no decisions have been made and the problem is one of establishing the social objectives and appropriate policies for their achievement,” wrote Professor Percy McGauhey (1904-1975), University of California Berkeley, author of Engineering Management of Water Quality


    Percy McGauhey was an early proponent of an interdisciplinary approach for making better decisions. Buried in his textbook published in 1968 is this gem: “Ideally, the alternatives on which a final political decision is made in the field of water resources management should come from a team of experts from the several disciplines concerned. Historically, however, no such team has been utilized.” His hierarchy of decision making was the source of inspiration for the Partnership for Water Sustainability’s cascading approach to outreach and continuing education in the 2000s.

    Read Article

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “For the past 25 years, we have shone the hydrology spotlight on management of water volume to restore the natural water balance. Our next leap forward is to integrate the probabilistic framework evolved by UBC’s Younes Alila to reduce risk and liability,” stated Kim Stephens of the Partnership for Water Sustainability


    “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.

    Read Article

    INCREASED FREQUENCY, MAGNITUDE, DURATION AND LIABILITY OF FLOODS: “So, I put my markers down. If anyone goes back through the Hansard legislative record, they will find out how many times I spoke about the increased frequency, magnitude and duration of floods caused by clearcut logging,” stated Mike Morris, former BC Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General


    “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.

    Read Article

    INCREASED FREQUENCY, MAGNITUDE, DURATION AND LIABILITY OF FLOODS: “It is not just that the forest owes its causal power to the landscape features. The hydrological response of the landscape owes its power to the landscape feature and to the climate feature. That’s the space-time relationship,” stated Dr. Younes Alila, professional engineer and professor in the UBC Faculty of Forestry


    “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.

    Read Article

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Kelowna’s Water Security Plan sets out goals and actions of what we can do as a City. Having the Plan in place helps staff respond consistently to the public and our community partners,” stated Rod MacLean, Utilities Planning Manager


    “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.

    Read Article

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “You can build warehouses and industrial stuff pretty well anywhere you have a piece of property. You cannot build a farm by bringing in soil. That is what we have to protect. We have to find other places for this other stuff,” stated Christina Gemino, graduate of School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University


    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.

    Read Article

    < Previous Page | Next Page >