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Living Water Smart

    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Many readers tell us that they are inspired by the stories that we share,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia (June 2021)


    “Each week, from September through June, we celebrate the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the vision for Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan. Feature stories published weekly on Waterbucket eNews constitute a legacy resource. To make them readily accessible and sharable, many of these stories are now downloadable as report-style documents. In the Living Water Smart Series, featured authors explore specific themes, with an objective of helping others make a difference in the communities in which they live,” stated Kim Stephens.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “We will be successful when community development is guided by a vision that  embraces ‘design with nature’ approaches to reconnect people, land, fish, and water in altered landscapes,” stated Peter Law, a Founding Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability, when he provided context for the Partnership’s Living Water Smart Series (May 2021)


    “Released in 2008, Living Water Smart was the provincial government’s call to action, and to this day transcends governments. With Living Water Smart as its starting point, the Partnership has a primary goal, to build bridges of understanding and pass the baton from the past to the present and future. The Living Water Smart Series is an integral part of the knowledge-transfer process. In the Series, featured authors explore specific themes, with an objective of connecting dots. The Partnership goal is to facilitate understanding of how to build greener communities and adapt to a changing climate,” stated Peter Law.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “If someone says something is not working – that barriers prevent success – then our challenge for them is: Think about what would make it work, and what are you going to do to make that alignment of goals happen? Our theme is ‘imagine’,” stated Susan Rutherford, former Legal Counsel with West Coast Environmental Law, in capacity-building presentations delivered under the umbrella of the Water Sustainability Action Plan in the first decade of the 2000s


    “What we have in mind when we say ‘imagine’ is that players would imagine a legal tool or procedure that would ensure that barriers are removed or other parties in the process more effectively fulfil their piece of the sustainable development puzzle. There are solutions to be found if all parties in the community development process, i.e., staff within local and regional governments as well as private and other actors external to government but no less involved in the development process, simply talk to each other about how they could all work together more effectively, using law reform or other process changes as tools,” stated Susan Rutherford.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “For asset management, the consideration is how and when assets might be compromised in their lifecycle by climate change,” stated Robert Hicks, Senior Policy and Process Engineer City of Vancouver (November 2021)


    “If we look at the variability in climate change impact scenarios that may occur within many asset lifecycles, we may get distracted by the uncertainty and statistical variance of the magnitude among the anticipated changes for key parameters that inform levels-of-service. Climate change impacts are risks which can be addressed by aligning asset lifecycles to performance or change thresholds which consider how levels-of-service are likely to deteriorate in response to climate changes impacts. Lifecycles must therefore be considered and re-aligned with the new changing ‘normal’ conditions,” stated Robert Hicks

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Passion is the glue for collaboration when everyone shares a common set of values and a vision for reconnecting people, land and water,” stated Paul Chapman, Chair, when he reflected on the remarkable team effort during the time of COVID to produce Watershed Moments 2020, the Video Trilogy Series


    “Producing three videos in just six months required an incredible commitment by all 15 members of the Watershed Moments Team . As I reflect on all three modules in the series, the thread that attaches them all is the different layers of responsibility that team members represent. Yet most team members only knew a few of the other members when we began our sprint to create the series. Through the shared experience of doing something bold and original, everyone connected and bonded in a way that would not have happened without COVID,” stated Paul Chapman.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Everyone has a role to play in advancing Green Infrastructure implementation as we collectively travel along a path to find upstream, proactive solutions to climate change impacts and growing urban centres,” stated Dr. Joanna Ashworth, co-developer of the self-directed online course on Green Infrastructure Policy, Design and Practice launched by Simon Fraser University in 2021


    Joanna Ashworth has a vision that a region-wide rain garden program would build connections between and among neighbours, citizens, community organizations, schools, and local governments. “Every significant innovation results from a magical combination of timing, preparation and luck. So true for the creation of a new online course on Green Infrastructure, or GI, at Simon Fraser University. The course is designed to meet the learning needs of the various professional disciplines who have the power to influence the integration of GI systems into city and regional infrastructure,” stated Joanna Asheworth.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “There is a context that allowed Mike Wall to see an opportunity and take it on. The right questions were asked. The right professionals were on board. This combination led to self-evident success. The takeaway message is to understand your role, understand what is possible, and then find the opportunities,” stated Gracelyn Shannon, asset management professional (June 2021)


    “Michael Wall is the Manager of Strategic Initiatives and Asset Management at qathet Regional District. On one of Michael’s projects in 2020, the team was presented with an $850,000 engineered solution to manage runoff at the landfill closure site. Michael and his team questioned the proposed engineered solution and wondered if there may be a way to better use the surrounding forest instead. Michael and a small army of local professionals were able to develop a natural asset solution to manage the landfill runoff. The new green infrastructure plan saved $700,000 of taxpayer money and 0.5 hectares of second growth forest,” stated Gracelyn Shannon.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “An unintended outcome of customizing the BC Landscape Water Calculator for Abbotsford is in the way it gives homeowners direction for plant selection. This is powerful,” stated Amy Peters, coordinator of the City of Abbotsford water conservation program


    “In 2011, the City looked at options to reduce peak water demands due to the high cost of a new water source. This included conservation, optimizing existing sources and system efficiencies. Several different conservation programs were explored, one of the programs implemented was a voluntary program for irrigation and landscape water efficiency. The solution to our need was the BC Landscape Water Calculator. Homeowners can now provide us with a report that shows how their choice of water efficient plants and landscape design meets their water budget,” stated Amy Peters.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “The study looked at the existing policies, rules and practices used to protect salmon in the Lower Fraser Watershed. Then it compared Indigenous, federal, provincial and local government policies with standards used in the Fraser Basin Council’s Salmon-Safe Urban B.C. program,” stated Andrea McDonald, author of Creating Safe Cities for Salmon (May 2021)


    Creating Safe Cities for Salmon seems straightforward as a vision and a goal. But creating this outcome depends on bringing together a myriad of small pieces to create the big picture. This takes a career and requires enduring commitment. “I am inspired. I feel like I know the direction that I will take and that is local government. And I am passionate about having a career in local government because that is where I see the needed changes happening. It is where I see bringing my environmental perspective to both policy making and implementation,” stated Andrea McDonald.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Launched in March 2021, the Columbia Basin Water Hub will make critical water data readily available to decision makers for watershed management in an era of climate change impacting hydrological flows,” stated Kat Hartwig, Founder & Executive Director of Living Lakes Canada


    Kat Hartwig is the passion and vision behind Living Lakes. At the same as she is building Living Lakes, Kat is also mentoring a growing team of young environmental professionals who are very passionate about water stewardship. Everyone wants to continue Kat’s vision. “We set out to build an open source data hub for the Upper Columbia Basin. Now we’ve got the platform built, we’re training groups to upload their data, and we’re receiving feedback from groups and provincial and local governments to ensure we’re supporting their needs. It’s an iterative process,” stated Kat Hartwig.

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