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In 2005, Eric Bonham championed a vision for building a communications network to address issues facing the water and wastewater industry on Vancouver Island. In May 2006, the embryo “Meeting of the Minds” initiative morphed into CAVI-Convening for Action on Vancouver Island. The CAVI vision is economy, ecology and settlement in balance. The future of Vancouver Island calls for Cathedral like thinking to create a vision that is inspirational, pragmatic, and based on a strong foundation. Individuals, communities and local governments must commit to a future that ensures both water security and the sustainability of our watersheds. The VI2065 initiative will create a legacy to support settlement change on Vancouver Island in balance with ecology and economy,” stated Eric Bonham.

“Changes in Pacific Ocean conditions have major impacts on precipitation and temperature in the province,” states Faron Anslow. His work focuses on the assimilation of historical climate records from six provincial ministries, BC Hydro and Rio Tinto/Alcan into a homogeneous climate dataset. His sphere of interest encompasses the effects of the Pacific Ocean on the climate of British Columbia. “During a normal winter, the North Pacific Ocean loses heat. The weather from 2013 through 2015 prevented the cooling from happening as fast. As a result, the ocean became warmer than normal. Much of this was caused by the high pressure system and the relatively calm conditions that came with it.”

In December 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a report titled Flood Loss Avoidance Benefits of Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management. The premise of the study for EPA is that GI (Green Infrastructure) reduces the volume of runoff that reaches streams, and less runoff leads to smaller peak flows, lower water surface elevations, smaller floodplains and therefore fewer flood losses. “GI is necessary for water quality and stream health, and enhances community resiliency and environmental protection. In addition to these benefits, GI reduces government expenditures and protects existing investments in flood control. However, to be effective, GI must be implemented at the watershed level and communities must realize that they will all benefit from each other’s investments,” explains Dan Medina.

“The Water Balance Express tool is an example of how science can be translated into a meaningful form to help inform non-scientists on how to contribute to positive change. The video tutorial is helpful in demonstrating how the addition of the ‘Lego blocks’ can improve the stream health score,” states Julie Wilson. “The tool allows people to think about water in a different way, by conceptualizing how it behaves as it moves on and around their property. They can see how the built environment (roofs, driveway) and natural features (soil type, depth, vegetation) change the movement or storage of that water. There is immediate gratification in seeing the Stream Health gauge move into the ‘green’ zone, indicating you are below your runoff target and reducing the theoretical impact on the stream. It is fun to use!”

Released in November 2015 by the Partnership for Water Sustainability,
‘Beyond the Guidebook 2015: Moving Towards Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management’ is the third in a series that builds on Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia. “This is a milestone accomplishment, and was made possible with provincial funding assistance,” wrote Wes Shoemaker, Deputy Environment Minister. “The ministry acknowledges that the Partnership is also adding depth to the Guidebook through the Beyond the Guidebook Report Series and the Beyond the Guidebook Primer Series. The work of the Partnership is supporting the Province’s Living Water Smart vision and Green Communities initiative.”

Western North America may be crossing an invisible threshold into a different hydro-meteorological regime. Last year, the public chose the drought as British Columbia’s “Top Story of 2015”. On April 21, EMA of BC is hosting a session about the 2015 Drought. According to Stephanie Voysey, “The three speakers will present on different aspects of water scarcity and connect the dots to the Water Sustainability Act. Oliver Brandes from the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance at the University of Victoria will describe his vision of what a world-class regulatory system can look like in B.C. Steve Conrad from Pacific Water Research Centre at Simon Fraser University will elaborate on climate change science. Kim Stephens of the Partnership for Water Sustainability will explain what needs to be done to restore the water balance in urban areas.”

In September 2015, the General Assembly of the United Nations passed Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This follows a universal approach and will apply to developing, emerging and developed countries alike. Transforming Our World is constructed around five themes and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Goal 6 pertains specifically to water: “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. Goal 6 encompasses water-related ecosystems. “The vital importance of water and water-related trade-offs with climate policy has largely been ignored to date. At first glance, water plays no role in the Paris agreement. Upon closer examination, however, we see that climate policy will have far-reaching implications for the availability of water and vice versa,” wrote Ines Dombrowsky.

British Columbia’s Living Water Smart vision is to move beyond traditional infrastructure asset management and also account for nature’s services. The asset management requirements for the Province’s capital grants program provide the financial incentive for local governments to integrate ‘watershed systems thinking’ into asset management. “Proactive recognition of the risks we face offers Canadians the opportunity to direct policies and investment in ways that support a more resilient future. In order to do this effectively, we can draw upon a variety of tools located at different levels of government and authority,” states Mike Harcourt.

Framed for a broad audience, “DRainscapes” is a three-minute animation that explains the link between a single yard and the watershed system. The tools for slowing, sinking and spreading rainwater runoff are broken down into five simply illustrated categories. DRainscapes is now coupled with the Water Balance Model Express for Landowners to spark interest and a readiness to implement practices that ensure healthy and resilient watersheds for present and future generations to enjoy. “Finding ways to share the tools of our profession with wide audiences is increasingly necessary. It defines our ability to quickly adapt to our increasingly erratic environment, as citizens and cities implement the tools we have created to mitigate the impacts of development and climate change,” states Daniel Roehr.

The goal of the 2016 BC Landscape Architects Conference is to examine the influence water has in all aspects of our lives and landscapes and the potential consequences climate change will have in our relationship with, reaction to, and management of water in our landscape. Growing demands for water and the ramifications of climate change are having great influence on our relationships with, access to, and use of water in our lives and landscapes. “Conference attendees practise in both public and private realms. It would be valuable to introduce conference attendees to the findings of Beyond the Guidebook 2015 and what is necessary for us as design professionals to contribute to the restoration of watershed health wherever we are practising,” stated Al Neufeld.