Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC

LOCAL GOVERNMENT STAFF CONVENE FOR ACTION AT PARTNERSHIP FORUM: “A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead,” wrote Graham Greene, recognized as one of the great novelists of the 20th century

January 27, 2026 - Posted in water sustainability

Note to Reader:

Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. Storylines accommodate a range of reader attention spans. Read the headline and move on, or take the time to delve deeper – it is your choice!

Downloadable versions are available at Living Water Smart in British Columbia: The Series. Stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective, and the Story Behind the Story.

The edition published on January 27, 2026 kicked off a new season of “stories behind the stories”. It previews stories that are in the pipeline for publication during February and March 2026. These stories are about leaders and influencers at milestone moments in Georgia Basin history. Recent housing and professional reliance legislation is a theme that weaves its way through their stories.

ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader

This week the Partnership is hosting an inter-regional forum for our local government members. “The forum will provide a safe space for current frontline staff to tap into insights from alumni who are retired from leadership positions,” states Rémi Dubé, forum moderator and a Partnership director.

When we are part of a network, everyone goes further!

“The forum theme is that we can support each other to make everyone’s work easier by creating a knowledge network. And waterbucket.ca is the platform for telling the stories of those in the frontlines.”

Actions do ripple through time, for better or worse

Every milestone moment is a consequence of something that happened before and a cause of something that follows. Thus, the importance of understanding historical context and policy implications. With this edition of Waterbucket eNews, we kick off a new season of storytelling to share deep knowledge.

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

In the months leading up to the forum, Rémi Dubé and I have talked to those who the Partnership has invited to the forum. One-on-one conversations with those currently in the frontlines help us understand how the Partnership can help them to move forward.

Deep knowledge is being lost at an alarming rate. Storytelling is needed more than ever.

We learned that top of mind for those in the trenches is the provincial housing and professional reliance legislation. Both are causing stress within local governments. With this as our context, the Partnership can help because we have a communications platform to tell the stories of those in the frontlines.

Conversations will lead to dialogue and consensus

The Forum is all about conversations between past, current and future leaders. Local government alumni offer insights that are grounded by their experiences during transformative moments in British Columbia history.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Storytelling to share deep knowledge – a preview of stories in the pipeline

In February and March, we will publish stories about leaders and influencers at milestone moments in Georgia Basin history. The housing and professional reliance legislation is a theme that weaves its way through their stories.

FEBRUARY 10: Housing should be about building homes that people can afford in communities that work

FEBRUARY 24: Political will powered “mission possible” in British Columbia in the 2000s

Extract from the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver from 1994 through 2024, featuring the “golden period” between the years 2006 and 2011

MARCH 10: Local government people need safe spaces to share their stories of struggle

MARCH 24: Calls for repeal of ill-conceived housing legislation creates dynamic crucible

Living Water Smart in British Columbia Series

To download a copy of the foregoing resource as a PDF document for your records and/or sharing, click on Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Storytelling to share deep knowledge – preview of stories in the pipeline.

DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2026/01/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_storytelling-to-share-deep-knowledge_2026.pdf

About the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC

Technical knowledge alone is not enough to resolve water challenges facing BC. Making things happen in the real world requires an appreciation and understanding of human behaviour, combined with a knowledge of how decisions are made. It takes a career to figure this out.

The Partnership has a primary goal, to build bridges of understanding and pass the baton from the past to the present and future. To achieve the goal, the Partnership is growing a network in the local government setting. This network embraces collaborative leadership and inter-generational collaboration.