Water-Centric Planning

banner

Tag:

living water smart bc

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “When a new generation of advisors lacks the deep background and experience to comprehend what numbers really mean, how can we expect elected representatives to make informed decisions?” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director with the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC


    “As I reflect on the planning and operational implications of these interconnected issues, I am reminded of what the late Dr. Wesley Eckenfelder, a legendary professor from Vanderbilt University, told my engineering class when he was a guest lecturer for a week-long course at UBC,” stated Kim Stephens. “He said what are the numbers telling you? Understand the context. What are the assumptions? Look for the pattern. Ask the right questions! Wesley Eckenfelder’s words of wisdom have influenced my career as a professional engineer involved in policy and planning.”

    Read Article

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “We all learn through stories. Every edition of Waterbucket eNews is built around a conversational interview,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability


    “In these challenging times, it is imperative that we offer hope. Sharing stories of people’s experiences is valuable for inspiring others. Each week, we start with a compelling quotable quote and delve into the story behind the story. During the past 3-month period, the Partnership has published 11 feature stories. This edition constitutes our “season in review”. We have kept it simple. To refresh reader memories about the topics and how much ground we have covered, we have brought forward the headline plus defining quotable quote from each of the 11 storylines,” stated Kim Stephens.

    Read Article

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “The Bowker Creek Initiative is a network. It is a true community-driven collaboration made up of people with a lot of heart, grit, commitment, and dedication. They are dedicated to achieving the Bowker Blueprint vision,” stated Jody Watson, Supervisor of Environmental Initiatives with the Capital Regional District


    The 100-Year Action Plan for bringing Bowker Creek back to life will be achieved through an intergenerational commitment to a shared vision. Key words that capture the essence of the Bowker story are perseverance, dedication, and TIME in capitals. Changes do not happen overnight. It is a journey and journeys take decades. “That is what makes the Bowker Creek Initiative the best. We are watching it implement organically and operationally, unlike how it was 10 years ago when we were always banging at doors and saying don’t forget about the creek,” stated Jody Watson.

    Read Article

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Without the Agricultural Land Reserve and watercourses, the city of Surrey would feel different. It would not be the place that it is,” stated Rémi Dubé when he reflected on the evolution of rainwater management and green infrastructure over decades


    “Watercourses really do drive a lot of what we do in Surrey. It always goes back to the natural resource that we inherited. From an urban fabric perspective, between the Agricultural Land Reserve and our watercourses, the city would be quite a bit different if not for them. Between those two assets, you drive through Surrey and there is an environmental sense to it despite the density in the City Centre. When the Natural Drainage Policy was adopted in 1975, formalizing that need to preserve creeks in the 1970s made a huge difference to what we have now,” stated Rémi Dubé.

    Read Article

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Integration is the KEY MESSAGE – integration with the ecosystem, recreation, land use, and community groups. Use effective green infrastructure, lighten the ‘water footprint’, and protect stream health,” stated Carrie Baron, former Drainage Manager with the City of Surrey


    When senior governments cut programs in the 2000s and downloaded responsibilities to local government, the City of Surrey and Carrie Baron stepped up. Her passion and commitment garnered internal support at Surrey to fund data collection and performance monitoring programs. These advanced science-based understanding. “It was disheartening when senior governments started cutting all the science and data collection programs. The more you learn, the more you try to bring in. That was always the key – we knew that as technology advanced and we learned more, we had to change,” stated Carrie Baron.

    Read Article

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: Without Paul Ham’s quiet and unassuming leadership behind the scenes, would the green infrastructure movement in British Columbia have successfully launched a generation ago?


    Success in advancing the green infrastructure mission during the 2000s under Paul Ham’s watch is attributable to 10 cascading factors being in alignment within Surrey as well as within the Metro Vancouver region. These are timeless, universal principles. Top-to-bottom alignment enabled local government collaboration at the regional scale. Paramount is political commitment. Staff can only carry things so far. Only when someone who is elected takes the lead, and is the champion, does something happen.

    Read Article

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “If done right, I see Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery being leveraged to achieve informed and superior planning for land and water,” stated Kim Stephens, Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia


    “The Partnership for Water Sustainability and Asset Management BC share common interests. The umbrella for collaboration Sustainable Service Delivery. An over-arching goal of collaboration is to advance a mutually supporting approach that profiles and raises awareness of the guiding philosophy, principles and objectives embodied in the BC Framework. Local government politicians and staff are being overwhelmed by the issues of the day. Folks are losing sight of the big picture. An elephant in the room is that the asset management community has lost its way,” stated Kim Stephens.

    Read Article

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Engaging citizen lake stewards throughout the province would extend the ability of government, as we face climate change,” says Eric Bonham, a director of the BC Lake Stewardship Society


    “Major breakthroughs happen when decision-makers in government work with grass-roots visionaries in the community to create the future desired by all. Collaboration grows from a shared vision about the future and commitment to action. This is the ‘top down and bottom up’ approach. Engagement of community through stewardship is a credible formula to be encouraged and mainstreamed at every opportunity. Collaboration, teamwork and a recognition that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts is the energy that stokes creativity and determination,” stated Eric Bonham.

    Read Article

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “The loss of understanding among elected representatives at the regional scale is real,” stated Darrell Mussatto, former mayor of North Vancouver City


    “As an elected representative, you go through the years, and you become more involved. And then in my case, 2018 comes along and you are not running for re-election again. After serving 25 years, you are done! That is a big, big shock. Once you are done, you are done. At the regional level, there has been a recent loss of long-term knowledge and experience. The loss of understanding is real. When politicians retire, staff are still there. As an outgoing elected person, you rely on the continuity of key staff to keep it all together,” stated Darrell Mussatto.

    Read Article

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “The job of a scientist is to provide the best advice to help people make a good decision,” stated Dr. Dave Preikshot, Senior Environmental Specialist with the Municipality of North Cowichan


    “As scientists, we try to walk that tightrope between being overly reactive or not bringing the appropriate dynamics to bear on a situation. That is the debate in so many policy decisions. Ultimately the decisions are up to senior managers, politicians and the public to make. As a scientist, all you can do is provide the best quality of information possible. Hopefully, though, scientists can provide information that helps. I do believe that scientists need to talk to politicians, managers, and members of the community. And that is what I do in my current role,” stated Dave Preikshot.

    Read Article

    < Previous Page | Next Page >