Okanagan Rain to Resource Workshop: Elected representatives lend their credibility to "convening for action" event
Convening for Action in the Okanagan
Held in Kelowna in October 2010, the ‘From Rain to Resource: Managing Stormwater in a Changing Climate Workshop‘ attracted almost 120 delegates from around British Columbia. Approximately half the audience came from the Okanagan/Interior. The other half came from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
The workshop also attracted a significant number of of elected representatives from communities in the Okanagan Valley. Kelowna Mayor Sharon Shepherd and Osoyoos Mayor Stu Wells provided context for “convening for action” in their welcoming remarks.Mayor Wells is also Chair of the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB).
MLA John Slater, Parliamentary Secretary for Water in the provincial government, spoke to this theme: Integrating Rainwater Management: Tools and Policies. A former Chair of the Okanagan Basin Water Board, his responsibilities include Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan and Water Act Modernization.
Speaking as Board Chair, Stu Wells reminded everyone that there are two Q’s: Quantity and Quality — “We probably all knew that rainwater is a resource, but when we start zeroing in on what we can do, we are going to see how valuable it is. But what about the other Q! It is amazing how many times we look at QUANTITY, and I am from the region that wants to talk about QUALITY. So when we get into rainwater as a resource, it is really important that we recognize the quality of the water that we are dealing with when we put it into our lakes and rivers.”
TO LEARN MORE: To read the complete story posted on the Water Bucket website, and to access a set of three video clips posted on YouTube, click on Okanagan Rain to Resource Workshop: Elected representatives lend their credibility to “convening for action” event.