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1. DID YOU KNOW THAT: China breaks ground on ambitious and self-sustaining "Forest City"

   October 31, 2017 6:00 am Leave a Comment

   Note to Reader:

   Milan-based architect Stefano Boeri is passionate about green infrastructure and demonstrates the art of the possible with his fantastical-looking plant-covered buildings. He is famed for his tree-clad Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) skyscraper complex in Milan, completed in 2014. Vertical Forest is a model for sustainable building design, urban reforestation, and vertical densification of nature within a city.

   Building on his Vertical Forest success, Stefano Boeri has a vision for creation of ’forest cities’. This is an ambitious plan. His first project is the Liuzhou Forest City, which is under construction in the mountainous region of Guangxi, China.

   

   The Liuzhou Forest City project will eventually accommodate 30,000 people.
   To learn more, visit https://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/en/

   “The Liuzhou Forest City is the first experiment of the urban environment that’s really trying to find a balance with nature,” said Stefano Boeri, an internationally acclaimed architect

   Forest City Vision

   In 2016, China’s State Council released guidelines forbidding the construction of “bizarre” and “odd-shaped” buildings lacking character or cultural heritage, shifting their focus to the “economic, green and beautiful.”

   This shift created the opportunity for Stefano Boeri to implement his Forest City vision. The project comes on the heels of Vertical Forest, two residential towers in Milan covered in the equivalent of five acres of forest.

   Vertical Forests:

   “We started to imagine if it was possible to create an urban environment created from many of these vertical forests,” stated Stefano Boeri. China, he said, provided the perfect backdrop for such an ambitious project.

   “Cities are two per cent of the entire Earth’s land surface, but they are producing 70 per cent of CO2.

   “If we seriously want to deal with climate change, we have to study where climate change is produced.

   “Forests absorb approximately 40 per cent of [man-made] CO2, so increasing the number of trees and plants inside a city is a crucial issue.”

   A Modern City with a Difference:

   A small portion of Liuzhou, which has a total population of around 1.5 million residents, is being redeveloped. The new ground-up city will accommodate up to 30,000 people in a master plan of environmentally efficient structures covered top-to-bottom in plants and trees.

   Liuzhou Forest City will contain all of the essential typologies of the modern city – offices, houses, hotels, hospitals and schools – housed within a 175 hectare site near the Liujiang River. Construction is expected to be completed in 2020.

   Employing Stefano Boeri’s signature vertical forest system, the facades of each building will be covered in plant life, with a total 40,000 trees and nearly 1 million plants from over 100 species specified.

   Ambitious and Self-Sustaining

   Liuzhou Forest City will have all the characteristics of an energy self-sufficient urban establishment: geothermal energy for interior air-conditioning and solar panels over the roofs for collecting renewable energy.

   A Global Precedent:

   According to Stefano Boerio,”For the first time in China and in the world, an innovative urban settlement will combine the challenge for energy self-sufficiency and for the use of renewable energy with the challenge to increase biodiversity and to effectively reduce air pollution in urban areas – which is really critical for present-day China – thanks to the multiplication of vegetable and biological urban surfaces.”

   As nothing like this has ever been attempted before, it will be intriguing to see how it turns out.

   

   “Verical Forest” skyscraper complex in Milan

    

2. BLUE ECOLOGY WORKSHOP (Nov 28) – your opportunity to interact with MP Fin Donnelly, founder of the Rivershed Society

   October 24, 2017 6:00 am Leave a Comment

   Note to Reader:

   The flood, drought and fire extremes of 2017 provide both the backdrop and a focus for the Blue Ecology Workshop on November 28th in Richmond. It need not be doom and gloom. There is hope for future generations – especially if we take a water-first approach to setting priorities. The process for adapting to a changing climate starts with an attitude change. Actually adapting requires transformational changes in how we apply hydrologic understanding, value nature, and service land – this is a unifying theme for the Blue Ecology Workshop.

   Designed to be a conversation starter, the Blue Ecology Workshop will have a town-hall format to create a ‘sharing & learning’ atmosphere for interaction between the audience and the presentation team. Michael Blackstock will be joined by two ‘water champions’ who have achieved national prominence – Member of Parliament Fin Donnelly, who has twice swum the length of the Fraser; and the CBC’s Bob McDonald, host of Quirks & Quarks – along with a supporting cast from the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.

   TO REGISTER, VISIT: https://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/2017/Blue-Ecology

   

    “The Fraser River’s diversity – including people and landscapes – inspires me. However, we need to apply ‘Watershed CPR’ to the Fraser to return it to health,”   says Fin Donnelly – Member of Parliament, founder & Chair of the Rivershed Society of British Columbia

   Vision for a Water-Resilient Future

   “Michael Blackstock has a vision for water. It is all-embracing. He asks us to look at water and the landscape differently. Also, his Blue Ecology concept for ‘interweaving’ Western and Indigenous thought goes to the heart of bringing different worlds together. I share that vision; and was humbled when the Partnership for Water Sustainability invited me to add my ‘riversheds perspective’ to the Blue Ecology Workshop program,” states Fin Donnelly.

   

   Fin Donnelly swimming the Fraser River

   Bring Different Worlds Together:

   “I am excited to join the Blue Ecology Workshop team because the Partnership for Water Sustainability is a dynamic network of water professionals. Provincially significant, the Partnership does excellent work and has quietly grown in stature through its accomplishments over time. I like that the Partnership encourages water professionals to think in a new way – of the land, from the land.

   “I can relate to Michael Blackstock’s Blue Ecology vision in that it interweaves Western science with Indigenous traditional knowledge. In 1997, after my first Fraser River swim, the Squamish Nation honoured me with the name Iyim Yewyews, which means strong ‘swimmer in the animal world’ or orca. As  steward of the sea the orca’s role is to ensure salmon are plentiful. If  salmon flourish, then so will the orca. This is my life’s mission.”

   

   Orcas (killer whales) jumping

   Reflections on the Summer of 2017

   “We are now seeing the evidence pile up to confirm that the climate is indeed changing. Floods, drought and forest fires are occurring in rapid succession. Over the past Labour Day weekend, my trip through the Fraser’s interior brought home to me the impact of what the ‘new normal’ looks, feels and even smells like,” says Fin Donnelly.

   The New Normal:

   “The experience was eerily strange. The roads were clear on what would normally be a busy weekend. The landscape on both sides was burned and scarred. There were no animals to be seen, and few people. There was a smell and taste in the air of burnt ash. In short, the aftermath of the forest fires was raw and real. I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like during the fires. The experience left me wondering – how can we live in these conditions, especially knowing these conditions are anticipated to intensify.”

   “The impacts and consequences of this summer’s fires will be far-reaching. In a single forest fire season, British Columbia reportedly lost more than 5% of its Annual Allowable Cut of harvestable timber. The economic impacts on forestry dependent communities will be substantial. And the impacts on watershed hydrology will be just as significant. For years to come, Fraser River water levels (high and low) and quality will be affected. This all points to the importance of having a basin-wide strategy for climate adaptation and restoration.”

   

   Watershed, Rivershed, What’s the Difference?

   “The Fraser River is my passion. The Fraser is one of the most diverse river basins in North America. The Fraser’s diversity, of both people and landscapes – is what inspires me. I use the term rivershed because it is more place-specific than watershed. It encourages a mental shift from human settlement to the larger interconnected natural environment,” explains Fin Donnelly.

   Restore the Fraser River:

   “I learned about the issues threatening the health of BC’s longest river in university. I experienced those issues and drew attention to the world’s greatest salmon river in a unique way, by twice swimming its 1,400km length. And because the need for Watershed CPR (Conservation-Protection-Restoration) is urgent, my goal is to inspire and encourage British Columbians to take action and apply CPR.”

   The Call to Action:

   “When collaboration is a common or shared value, the right mix of people and perspectives will create the conditions for change. We need a paradigm-shift in the way we do things. My call to action involves ‘taking advantage of the entire water network’! Ask yourself – who will be helpful as we interweave perspectives on our journey to become water-resilient?”

   

   TO REGISTER, VISIT: https://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/2017/Blue-Ecology

3. NEW PUBLICATION: Restore Watershed Hydrology, Prevent Stream Erosion, Ensure Salmon Survival on Vancouver Island (Shelly Creek in the City of Parksville)

   October 17, 2017 6:03 am Leave a Comment

   Note to Reader:

   In 1999 the Englishman River on the east coast of Vancouver Island was declared an endangered river. Extinction of the salmon resource was viewed as a very real possibility. This catalyst for action resulted in two transformational outcomes: implementation of the Englishman River Watershed Recovery Plan (2001); and creation of the Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society (MVIHES).

   Fast forward to the present. Shelly Creek, a tributary of the Englishman River that flows through the City of Parksville, is important to salmonids. MVIHES has established a provincial precedent with the Shelly Creek Water Balance & Sediment Reduction Plan; and this will have reverberations as the “Shelly Creek story” becomes well-known.

   The Shelly Creek experience foreshadows that an informed stream stewardship sector may prove to be a difference-maker that accelerates implementation of the ‘whole-system, water balance’ approach in British Columbia.

   DOWNLOAD A COPY

   

   Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society – Stewards of the Watershed

   “The challenge is to move from stop-gap remediation of in-stream problems to long-term restoration of a properly functioning watershed,” states Peter Law
   – Vice-President, Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society

   MVIHES – Stewards of the Watershed

   Over the past two decades, the evolving role of stream steward groups in British Columbia is exemplified by Englishman River experience. In the1990s, the ‘Coho salmon crisis’ raised the alarm and galvanized action to tackle the impact of human activities on stream health and fish survival in urbanizing watersheds.

   Across Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, salmon enhancement stewardship groups formed. Many volunteer groups had their beginnings in small stream salmon enhancement projects.

   Look Beyond the Creek Channel:

   A generation later, most community-based groups still exist. They provide thousands of volunteer hours to restore aquatic habitats. From (salmon egg) incubation boxes to habitat restoration, they partner with fisheries agencies to restore salmonid populations. Now the scope of stewardship sector involvement and influence is expanding beyond the creek channel.

   “Over time, MVIHES has morphed from Stewards of the Plan toStewards of the Watershed. Beginning in 2011, the MVIHES action plan has concentrated on Shelly Creek. One of five Englishman River tributaries, it is the last fish-bearing creek flowing through the City of Parksville,” states Peter Law, MVIHES Vice-President & Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC.

   What the Community Watershed Monitoring Network has revealed

   In 2011, the Regional District of Nanaimo Drinking Water and Watershed Protection Program partnered with the Ministry of Environment, MVIHES and nine other stewardship groups to implement the Community Watershed Monitoring Network.

   Erosion is the Issue:

   “Shelly Creek turbidity measurements were two times higher than the value established for acceptable sediment runoff in the Englishman River,” reports Peter Law.

   “In fact, Shelly Creek’s turbidity numbers were the highest in the region (as reported in 2013). This was the alarm bell that alerted us to a serious problem with watershed health. By 2014, efforts to identify sediment sources and their causes, and then develop solutions, were underway.

   ”MVIHES secured funding from multiple agencies, in particular the Pacific Salmon Foundation, and developed the Shelly Creek Water Balance & Sediment Reduction Plan. Now, the challenge for MVIHES is to facilitate the community’s journey from awareness to action, expressed as follows:

   Once a community as a whole acknowledges that there is a problem, and also understands why there is a problem, what will the community do about it?

   “By sharing the story of Shelly Creek, we want readers to recognize that erosion is a common issue impacting salmon and trout habitats in small streams, draining into the Salish Sea,” states Peter Law.

   “Existing standards of practice have resulted in negative impacts. Continuing to use those standards will result in further environmental degradation of the watershed and loss of stream productivity.

   “Building support for action starts with community engagement. Over the coming year, we hope to engage property owners along the stream at kitchen table discussions about what is happening, and focus on possible in-stream and off-stream solutions.

   “They are seeing the impacts now, and will suffer in the future.  It will require a bottom-up approach to inform, educate and inspire City and Regional District governments to implement 21st century policies for rainwater and development.”

   A Funder’s Perspective:

   In addition to the Pacific Salmon Foundation, four other organizations provided funding, namely: MVIHES, Regional District of Nanaimo, City of Parksville and the Partnership for Water Sustainability.

   “As a co-funder, the Partnership is thrilled to have contributed to the Shelly Creek Plan,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC.

   “We all learn from stories and the most compelling ones are based on the experiences of the champions who are leading by example in their communities.

   “Our commitment to the Shelly Creek stream stewardship volunteers is to tell their story far and wide.”

   Engage the Community

   All of us have an impact on the land, on the water, and on the way things look. Restoring watershed hydrology and aquatic habitat depends on all the players embracing shared responsibility. There are solutions to be found if we communicate, cooperate, coordinate and collaborate. Commitment to action must be inter-generational. The Shelly Creek Water Balance & Sediment Reduction Plan is a starting point for ‘getting it right’.

   Shared and Inter-Generational Responsibility:

   “MVIHES is a small group of community volunteers with limited resources. So the challenge is daunting. Yet someone has to spark a consensus in our community that: we must implement ‘state-of-the-art’ Rainwater Management practices ASAP, or we will lose what remains of fish values in Shelly Creek,” states Peter Law.

   “The goal of restoring a healthy watershed with viable fish-bearing flows and habitats would take at least 50 years.  Over the coming months, MVIHES will meet with owners of large land holdings about projects that could be implemented in the stream channel. Because stream channel restoration is costly and time consuming, our message will be that effectiveness depends on preventing erosion.

   “We had better get busy,” concludes Peter Law.

   Table of Contents

   The table is a synopsis. It distills the essence of each section into a succinct statement. These create a storyline. Readers are asked to pause and reflect on them before reading the story itself.

   To Download a Copy: https://waterbucket.ca/rm/files/2017/10/Shelly-Creek-Water-Balance-Demonstration_Oct2017.pdf

   

4. NEW PUBLICATION: Green Infrastructure Innovation in Langley Township (British Columbia)

   October 11, 2017 6:02 am Leave a Comment

   Note to Reader:

   Time provides perspective! We all learn from stories and the most compelling ones are based on the experiences of champions who are leading by example in their communities. The story of green infrastructure innovation in Langley Township is indeed compelling. In 2007, the Township hosted one of three events in the Metro Vancouver Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation Series. A decade later, we have the perspective of time when we reflect on their approach and connect the dots between past, present and future.

   In 2007, the Township chose Harmony and Integration as its theme. A decade later, how have things played out? Is the Township accomplishing what it set out to achieve with its bold vision for an attractive and liveable community? Is the land and water stewardship ethic deeply instilled in the corporate culture? What is next on the horizon? These questions provided a focus for storytelling and created the storyline for Green Infrastructure Innovation in Langley Township, released today by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.

   DOWNLOAD A COPY

   

   Rain Gardens on 208A Street at 69A Avenue, Langley

   “A presentation many years ago by Patrick Condon put me on the path to integration. Patrick’s storytelling made me realize that everything we do has an effect somewhere else,” says Ramin Seifi, General Manager, Engineering & Community Development, Township of Langley

   Cathedral Thinking

   The stewardship ethic for creating liveable neighbourhoods in Langley is shaped by “cathedral thinking”, that is – a far-reaching vision, a well thought-out blueprint, and a shared commitment by elected representatives, staff and community to long-term implementation.

   Celebrate ‘Good Work’:

   Design with nature, a whole-system approach, learn by doing and adapt. These three phrases capture the essence of how the Township builds neighbourhoods. The record of success to date is impressive.

   This Watershed Case Profile celebrates the ‘good work’ done by the Township. By showcasing and sharing the ‘story behind the story’ of green infrastructure innovation, the Partnership for Water Sustainability hopes is that other communities will learn from Township experience. Langley is demonstrating the critical success factors that must be in play to achieve a vision for Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management.

   Going Beyond Staff

   “The adaptive process for implementing green infrastructure is ongoing. Each time we learn. We strive to find better ways to mimic nature and protect the natural water balance in Langley’s watersheds,” states Ramin Seifi.

   Educate the Community:

   “But the public does not see integration. This means the next step is to educate the community as a whole so that everyone understands the importance of green infrastructure and protecting the water cycle. Buy-in has to be from everyone.

   “Time is of the essence to get buy-in, especially with the population currently projected to double. People are attracted to Langley because it is a community of choice. Protecting the natural values that make Langley attractive underscores the importance of going beyond staff to inform and educate homeowners. Achieving this outcome will require that we go door-to door.”

   Table of Contents

   The table is a synopsis. It distills the essence of each section into a succinct statement. These create a storyline. Readers are asked to pause and reflect on them before reading the story itself.

   To Download a Copy: https://waterbucket.ca/cfa/files/2017/10/Green-Infrastructure-Innovation-in-Langley-Township_Oct-2017.pdf

   

    

5. BLUE ECOLOGY WORKSHOP (Nov 28) – your opportunity to interact with CBC’s Bob McDonald, host of Quirks & Quarks

   October 3, 2017 6:00 am Leave a Comment

   Note to Reader:

   The flood, drought and fire extremes of 2017 provide both the backdrop and a focus for the Blue Ecology Workshop on November 28th in Richmond. It need not be doom and gloom. There is hope for future generations – especially if we take a water-first approach to setting priorities. The process for adapting to a changing climate starts with an attitude change. Actually adapting requires transformational changes in how we apply hydrologic understanding, value nature, and service land – this is a unifying theme for the Blue Ecology Workshop.

   Designed to be a conversation starter, the Blue Ecology Workshop will have a town-hall format to create a ‘sharing & learning’ atmosphere for interaction between the audience and the presentation team. Michael Blackstock will be joined by two ‘water champions’ who have achieved national prominence – the CBC’s Bob McDonald, host of Quirks & Quarks; and Member of Parliament Fin Donnelly, who has twice swum the length of the Fraser – along with a supporting cast from the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.

   TO REGISTER, VISIT: https://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/2017/Blue-Ecology

   

   “Climate change is no longer in the future. It is here. It is real. If we are to adapt, and be quick about it, we really must move beyond ‘shock and yawn’,” says Bob McDonald – author, science journalist, and the national science commentator for CBC Television and CBC News Network

   Vision for a Water-Resilient Future

   “Michael Blackstock has a vision. He foresees British Columbians successfully adapting to climate change and becoming more water-resilient. I share Michael’s uplifting vision; and that is why I jumped at the invitation to be part of the Blue Ecology Workshop team,” states Bob McDonald.

   Inspire Audiences to Individual Action:

   “I am often invited to be a keynote speaker at conferences across Canada. Usually I parachute in, tell my story and depart. Not so with the Blue Ecology Workshop. My relationship with the Partnership for Water Sustainability is different. The Partnership has embraced me as a team member, I have a defined role to play within their team concept, and I will be there for the duration of the workshop.

   “Blue Ecology is my second Partnership event, the first being the FLOWnGROW Workshop a year ago in Kelowna. These experiences are fun. I am excited because I believe we can make a difference by sharing our observations and experience with passion and enthusiasm. The Partnership goal is to inspire audiences to individually make a difference when they leave the workshops. This goal resonates with me!”

   Reflections on the Summer of 2017

   “This past summer I drove from Victoria to Caspar, Wyoming on my motorcycle to observe the solar eclipse. British Columbia was burning. The smoke was overwhelming and it was everywhere,” continues Bob McDonald. “Along the way, I literally could not see the trees for the smoke. The mountains were merely etchings in the sky.

   Engage the Public with a ‘Message of Hope’:

   “Weeks later, the dramatic impact of the hurricanes in the Carribbean dominated the news. It struck me then that the predictions for increasing frequency of extreme events are actually coming true. Climate change is here. And it has happened quickly. More quickly than predicted. The real story is the accelerating rate of change, especially since extreme events are creating their own weather. In British Columbia, wildfires will shape our future.

   “A recent interview with a UN diplomat got me thinking. The real issue is public engagement, he said. We are at a moment of truth. Unless the climate message offers hope, he explained, individuals will not be motivated to take action in the face of change. Yet action does need to happen quickly. Because Blue Ecology is a message of hope, I believe it is an idea whose time has come. As Michael Blackstock has written:

   To make the right choices moving forward, decision-makers at all levels and scales must understand how and where the rhythms of water are changing.

   “If we do make the right choices, we will be more water-resilient, and we will successfully adapt to a changing climate!”

   

   Water from a Global Perspective and Beyond

   Bob McDonald translates complex scientific information in a way that is both fascinating and easily understood by his audiences.

   “We are used to being surrounded by lots of water, on a global scale, but the Earth doesn’t have much fresh water available for humans,” states Bob McDonald.

   Water, Water, Everywhere….Except That:

   “Take a look at the dramatic illustration from the U.S. Geological Survey (above) and you will see that if all of the world’s water, including the oceans, were formed into one big drop, it would form a sphere 1,376 kilometres in diameter, which is about as wide as the Prairie provinces. Out of that, the fresh water available to humans is a sphere only 56 kilometres across.

   “That’s not a lot of fresh water for seven billion humans to live on. That’s also why water conservation is so important.

   “Water is THE issue of the 21st century, both around the world and even here in Canada where we have more water than anyone. As glaciers disappear and droughts become more frequent, it is vital, in every sense of the word to manage our most precious resource wisely. The big question is: are we collectively up for it?”

   

   TO REGISTER, VISIT: https://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/2017/Blue-Ecology

6. Making Nature Count in the Town of Gibsons – celebrating and showcasing 5 years of leading by example

   September 26, 2017 6:00 am Leave a Comment

   Note to Reader:

   In British Columbia, Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery: A BC Framework sets a strategic direction for looking at infrastructure differently. The BC Framework encourages communities to refocus business processes to account for natural infrastructure within the built environment. The Town of Gibsons is an early adopter of the paradigm-shift: 

   Council has declared that Nature is a community’s most valuable infrastructure asset. 

   Furthermore, Gibsons is leading by example in successfully implementing its visionary Eco-Asset Strategy, adopted in 2014. The Town is the Living Laboratory for the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative. It is also a demonstration application forSustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management. The Town of Gibsons brings added depth of policy development.

   

   Aerial view of the Town of Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia

   “The Gibsons Eco-Asset Strategy allows the Town to bring the value of nature into the DNA of municipal decision-making,” states Emanuel Machado, Chief Administrative Officer

   North America’s First Natural Asset Policy

   “The Town of Gibsons eco-assets journey began in 2012,” recalls Emanuel Machado, Chief Administrative Officer. “The triggering event was the release of the Gibsons Aquifer Mapping Study. Shortly afterwards the Town changed the definition of infrastructure and formally acknowledged the need to understand and manage (eco)systems and not simply individual infrastructure assets.

   “This action led directly to the Gibsons Eco-Asset Strategy, which recognizes the role of nature as a fundamental component of the municipal infrastructure system.”

   Establish Budget Line Items:

   “At the heart of the strategy is North America’s first natural asset policy. This directs the municipality to consider the role of natural assets within our overall asset management strategy. What gives life to the policy is the fact that, once the natural asset is within the policy, a budget is set aside for its ongoing management and maintenance, and town staff work together to preserve its integrity.

   “The innovation in this strategy is that it helps to explain the value of natural assets in terms of financial and management strategies.  It takes Gibsons beyond just making an environmental case for preserving nature.”

   Putting the Eco-Asset Strategy into Action

   “Over the past five years, the Town’s staff have been learning by doing, and adapting. Since declaring Nature its most valuable infrastructure asset, and to instil the stewardship ethic across the organization, the Town has integrated the Eco-Asset Strategy into everything that the municipality does,” continues Emanuel Machado.

   Policies & Plans All Recognize the Role of Nature:

   “To fully integrate nature’s services into its decision making, both financial and planning, and operations, the Town has updated its Asset Management Policy, Official Community Plan, including Development Permit Area guidelines, Strategic Plan, Financial Plan(s), Subdivisions Standards Bylaw, Development Cost Charges Bylaw, Integrated Stormwater Management Plan (in progress), and Human Resources Plan. All recognize the role of nature as a fundamental component of the municipal infrastructure system.

   “To share our experience with other local governments, the Town is presently developing a Guidance Document for the Financial Planning of Natural Assets. We expect to release it later in 2017. The document will inform and support the work of the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative, currently piloting the ‘Gibsons approach’ in five communities in BC and Ontario, with five more projects across Canada expected in 2018.”

   Design with Nature to Sustain the Natural Flow of Water to and in Streams

   The Town of Gibsons is the latest local government to become a sustaining member of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia. Collaboration and the resulting cross-fertilization of experience would benefit two programs; these are complementary in terms of desired outcomes (valuation of natural assets):

   • Municipal Natural Assets Initiative (MNAI), of which the Town is a convening partner; and
   • Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management, led by the Partnership.

   The Partnership develops approaches, tools and resources to build practitioner capacity within local government to implement a whole-system, water balance approach branded as Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management. Under this umbrella, tools include the Ecological Accounting Protocol for valuing watersheds as infrastructure assets; and the interactive Water Balance Express to help homeowners understand what they would need to do to achieve a water balance on their properties.

   Engage Community with Water Balance Express:

   “The Town has joined the Partnership for Water Sustainability due, in part, to its contributions towards helping local governments in the integration of natural asset considerations into sustainable asset management, including planning and financial decisions and municipal operations,” explains Emanuel Machado.

   “The Town is a demonstration application for the Water Balance Methodology through our participation in the Water Balance Express Cost-Sharing Incentive Program. The Partnership is supporting the Town by providing us with performance targets so that, in future, design of our drainage infrastructure would replicate the flow-duration pattern characteristic of natural conditions in our streams.

   “The Town commits to implementing the Water Balance Express tool because it allows property owners/developers to simulate their own property and demonstrate how best to slow, sink and spread rainwater runoff.”

   

   Two initiatives – Municipal Natural Assets Initiative (MNAI) and Ecological Accounting Protocol (EAP) – have the potential to achieve complementary outcomes, albeit at different scales

7. Flood, drought, fire, wind and cold – because extreme events are becoming the norm…..

   September 19, 2017 6:00 am Leave a Comment

   Note to Reader:

   “Local governments in British Columbia already face a $200 billion challenge for renewal of aging hard infrastructure – such as watermains, sewers and roads. And now, as communities face the increasing impacts of climate change, there is another unfunded liability – the cost to restore watershed hydrology and water resilience in the built environment,” states Kim Stephens, Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability.

   “British Columbia has arrived at a fork in the road. How, and how quickly, will communities respond? And how will they adapt over time to the New Normal? 

   “Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery: A BC Framework provides a financial driver for local governments to integrate a whole-system, water balance approach and climate adaptation into asset management. Outcome-oriented, the BC Framework sets a strategic direction to reduce life-cycle costs and risks. It also encourages ‘design with nature’ actions on the land. The benefits would ripple through time and accumulate to restore the water balance in the built environment. 

   “In March 2017, the governments of Canada and British Columbia announced program funding for Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management. This initiative supports the BC Framework. The goal is to transform how local governments and others think about the drainage function – so that they will value ‘watersheds as infrastructure assets’ when making decisions about land use, infrastructure servicing and asset management policies and practices.”

   

   Planning for a water-resilient future: Governments of Canada and British Columbia fund water balance tools and resources for climate adaptation action

   The Implementation Challenge: How to Transition from Awareness to Action

   The professional development and outreach program led by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC (“the Partnership”) is progressing on multiple fronts to develop approaches, tools and resources that would achieve this educational outcome: build practitioner capacity to implement a whole-system, water balance approach within the built environment.

   The Ecological Accounting Protocol (EAP) approach to valuing watersheds as infrastructure assets is being tested through demonstration applications in the Cowichan and Comox valleys on Vancouver Island. Three more guidance documents in the Watershed Case Profile Series will be released shortly. Three symposium-style events are upcoming. And, the Partnership is excited to announce that waterbalance.ca is the homepage for Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management.

   A new tool is the Water Balance Model Desktop. It provides an advanced problem-solving capability. Its appeal is that the process for applying it would help communities create a vision of the desired future water balance for a watershed, and the steps to achieve it.

   Water Balance Tools & Calculators

   Comprehensive and coordinated use of the 11 decision support tools listed below, and accessible from waterbalance.ca, would assist communities on their journeys to a water-resilient future:

   • Water Balance Model Desktop (NEW) – Facilitates application of the Water Balance Methodology (WBM) to establish watershed-specific performance targets. In turn, this would support use of EAP. These are the twin pillars of the whole-system, water balance approach.

   • Water Balance Model Online (ENHANCED) – A planning tool for assessing green infrastructure effectiveness at neighbourhood or individual property scales. Compare scenarios for runoff reduction. Modules include: Climate Change, Stream Erosion, Tree Canopy Rainfall Interception, Rainwater Harvesting.

   • Water Balance Express (ENHANCED) – An interactive tool for homeowners. Created to spur changes in practice. Click and drag components. Learn what it means and how to slow, spread and sink rainwater that runs off hard surfaces.

   • QUALHYMO Engine – Powers the Water Balance family of tools. Continuous and multi-year simulation modelling of hydrologic processes and water quality. Model has watershed, receiving stream and BMP components.

   • Drainage Infrastructure Screening Tool – Assess level-of-service for conveyance systems. Consider impact of both climate change and land use change at the same time, and with the same tool.

   • BC Water Conservation Calculator – Developed to support provincial grant applications, this tool is used by communities to demonstrate how fiscal and water savings would be achieved.

   • BC Agriculture Water Calculator – Developed to support the BC Groundwater Regulation, helps agriculture water users estimate annual irrigation or livestock water demands for farms.

   • Agricultural Irrigation Scheduling Calculator – Uses real-time evapotranspiration (ET) data from climate stations to determine drip irrigation run times and sprinkler irrigation schedules for agriculture.

   • Landscape Irrigation Scheduling Calculator – Uses real-time ET data for climate stations across Canada to determine landscape irrigation system run times.

   • Soil Hydraulic Properties Calculator – Useful for irrigation design. Select soil type to determine field capacity, wilting point, saturated hydraulic conductivity and maximum water content.

   • Evapotranspiration Calculator – Obtains real-time ET data for climate stations across Canada. A crop’s water requirement or water usage is directly related to ET.

   A Look Ahead

   A foundation piece for the Whole-System, Water Balance Approach is understanding how water gets to a stream, and how long it takes.

   British Columbia’s new Water Sustainability Act will establish regulations pertaining to stream health and aquatic environments. The environmental flows objective may open the door to requiring Flow-Duration Analysis. This would then be a regulatory driver for use of the Water Balance Model Desktop.

   

   Moving Towards “Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management”, released in November 2015, initiated recognition of ‘watersheds as infrastructure assets’.

   Reflections on Bridging the Gap

   “Climate change is real. Adapting to it begins with an attitude change towards water. Once that happens, it is possible to bridge the gap between talk and action,” states Ted van der Gulik, Partnership President.

   “Still, getting to a water-resilient future will require transformational changes in how we apply hydrologic knowledge, value nature as an asset, and service land. The Partnership mission is to provide local governments with tools and resources that will help them do that.”

   Ahead of the Curve

   “The current industry-wide move to on-line computation, propelled by changing approaches to software delivery as a multitude of enterprises commit to The Cloud, is hugely important,” adds Dr. Charles Rowney, the Partnership’s Scientific Authority.

   “The leadership shown by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in decisively moving in this direction well over a decade ago has led to a body of knowledge from which others can learn.”

   North American Leaders

   “The Partnership for Water Sustainability is evolving online tools that support implementation of the whole-system, water balance approach. British Columbia, Washington State and California are leaders. We are moving forward in parallel on this journey,” continues Jim Dumont, the Partnership’s Engineering Applications Authority.

   “A commonality is that all three regions are addressing impacts to the stream. Washington State and California have gone a step further than BC and mandated Flow-Duration Analysis as a regulatory requirement. Real-world success would be defined as reduced stream erosion during wet weather, and sustained ‘environmental flows’ during dry weather.”

   

   Commencing with release of Moving Towards “Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management” in November 2015, an initiative has been underway to transform how local governments and others think about the drainage function and to recognize ‘watersheds as infrastructure assets’.
   Sustainable Watershed Systems would be the outcome in Step Three. But it is not a wait-and-see proposition. Even as local governments are progressing through Steps One and Two for their core infrastructure, they need to be laying the groundwork so that they would be ready to implement Step Three. 
   To learn more about “Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management” – CLICK HERE

8. REGISTER EARLY – Blue Ecology Workshop – a ‘must attend’ event on Nov 28 in Richmond, BC, because…….

   September 12, 2017 6:22 am Leave a Comment

   Note to Reader:

   Blue Ecology is an ecological philosophy developed by Michael Blackstock, professional forester and scholar. Blue Ecology looks at the water cycle differently to interweave First Nations and Western thought. Michael Blackstock has a vision: British Columbia water managers would embrace the Blue Ecology water cycle; our communities would become more water-resilient; and we would successfully adapt to a changing climate. His innovative thinking is recognized by UNESCO and the International Association of Hydrological Sciences. Global recognition speaks volumes regarding the credibility of Michael Blackstock and Blue Ecology.

   The Blue Ecology Workshop will have a town-hall format. Michael will be joined by two ‘water champions’ who have achieved national prominence – the CBC’s Bob McDonald, host of Quirks & Quarks; and Member of Parliament Fin Donnelly, who has twice swum the length of the Fraser – along with a supporting cast from the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.

   TO REGISTER, VISIT: https://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/2017/Blue-Ecology

   

   “Blue Ecology is a means to focus, with new watery eyes, because an attitude switch needs to be thrown on the current crisis of climate change. For humans to adapt, a new culture of water is necessary,” wrote Michael Blackstock in a 2009 paper for the International Association of Hydrological Sciences

   Storytelling is Powerful

   We learn from stories. Flashback to September 2014. We begin by setting the scene. The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN), a partner in the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Education Initiative (IREI), co-hosted a walkabout with First Nations elders on the banks of the Englishman River. IREI representatives travelled from the Metro Vancouver region and four regional districts along the east coast of Vancouver Island to participate.

   Reconnect with Nature:

   The storytelling by the elders opened our eyes and minds. In the outdoor setting, and with the sounds of the river and birds in the background, the cultural experience was personal and profound. The storytelling triggered an Aha Moment about the way water is valued by First Nations. Consequently, the Partnership for Water Sustainability leadership resolved to find a way to connect the dots between Western understanding of the water cycle and First Nations traditional knowledge.

   A Potential Game-Changer:

   We then discovered that Michael Blackstock had already trail blazed the way forward two decades earlier when he developed the Blue Ecology water cycle. The next step was to connect with Michael. We promptly concluded that the moment had come to mainstream Michael’s vision for Blue Ecology – and especially in the local government setting – because we believed that wholehearted application of this ecological philosophy would be a game-changer for water resource management.

   

   Blue Ecology: A Water-First Approach

   What we are essentially talking about is reconciliation: going back to the headwaters of where we got our relationships with water and with one another wrong; and then starting back down the river of time – this time together – with a full understanding of the importance of embracing a water-first approach to planning human interventions in the environment.

   Because Our Climate is Changing:

   The warming of the planet’s atmosphere is causing water to move more quickly and disruptively through the global water cycle. Local consequences are magnified. To make the right choices moving forward, decision-makers at all levels and scales must understand how and where the rhythms of water are changing. After that, collaborate to adapt our land use and infrastructure servicing practices appropriately

   The gravity of the situation calls for a Whole-System, Water Balance Approach to the built environment. Successful implementation would depend on all the players – including politicians, planners, landowners, designers and implementers – collectively choosing to build on the Blue Ecology philosophical foundation. If they did, we would be on our way to ‘getting it right’ as communities develop and redevelop land. So attend the workshop and learn more on November 28.

   Blue Ecology: A Bridging Philosophy

   “Over the generations, we have lost our way,” states Michael Blackstock. “Western science is not wrong. It is just not complete. It does not account for water as part of a living ecosystem. The journey to a water-resilient future starts with Western science acknowledging water for its central functional and spiritual roles in our world.

   A New Way of Looking at Water:

   “Blue Ecology is an ecological philosophy, which emerged from interweaving First Nations and Western thought. It is meant to be a companion because it augments existing Western science hydrology rather than displacing this knowledge.”

   “Hydrologists and water managers can help build a brighter future by rediscovering the meaning of water, and interweaving the predominant Western analytical models with the more intuitive indigenous models. Blue Ecology’s philosophy is meant to be the bridge between these two cultural ways of knowing.

   “Blue Ecology is an incremental example of how we can interweave cultural perspectives on water, but that is just a starting point in this new era of interweaving. There is hope for future generations if we take a water-first approach to setting priorities,” concludes Michael Blackstock.

   

   TO REGISTER, VISIT: https://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/2017/Blue-Ecology

9. "Sponge Cities" – a catchy way to describe the goal in restoring the capacity of the urban landscape to absorb water and release it naturally

   September 6, 2017 6:00 am Leave a Comment

   Note to Reader:

   Recent water-centric developments in China and Berlin have caught the attention of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia (“the Partnership”). Initiatives in China and Berlin provide reason for optimism. Also, it is reassuring that they too are on a journey where the destination is a water resilient future. Consider that, in 2013, President Xi Jinping injected a new term into the global urban design vocabulary when he proclaimed that cities should “act like sponges” and launched China’s Sponge City program. And then last month, the Senate of Berlin released its Sponge City Strategy. The common guiding philosophy for both? Mimic nature, restore the water balance, adapt to a changing climate.

   The “sponge city” imagery resonates. People intuitively get it. The global context provided by these initiatives means that we, the Partnership, have a timely backdrop as we launch another season of eNewsletters. Over the coming weeks and months, the  Partnership will be making a series of announcements. These will elaborate on our current educational program to advance the vision for a Whole-System, Water Balance Approach.

   

   Revisiting our relationship with nature is necessary because…

   The warming of the planet’s atmosphere is causing water to move more quickly and disruptively through the global water cycle. Flood, drought, fire, wind and cold – extreme events are becoming the norm. Instabilities in the water cycle are increasingly apparent.

   All one need do is reflect on what British Columbia has experienced in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Impacts are magnified by human interventions. We have arrived at a fork in the road.

   The situation calls for a whole-systems approach to managing the water balance distribution where people live. The risks are too high, and the margins for error too small, to view water and watersheds only through narrow technical lenses. Adapting to changes in the water cycle and restoring the water balance starts with re-visiting our relationship with nature.

   Whole-System, Water Balance Approach

   The need to protect headwater streams and groundwater resources in British Columbia requires that communities expand their view – from one that looks at a site in isolation – to one that considers HOW all sites, the watershed landscape, streams and foreshores, groundwater aquifers, and PEOPLE function as a whole system.

   Inter-governmental collaboration and funding enable the Partnership to develop approaches, tools and resources; as well as provide teaching, training and mentoring. Our educational goal is to build practitioner capacity within the local government setting to implement a whole-system, water balance approach branded as Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management.

   And be sure to apply tools and resources!

   The ‘sponge city’ metaphor is powerful and inspirational. As such, China and Berlin are demonstrating that when there is a will, there is a way. Still, we urge the reader to take a moment to reflect upon their drivers for action – floods and droughts! They have learned the hard way that what happens on the land matters. And now, the ‘new normal’ of frequently recurring extremes has forced them to tackle the consequences of not respecting the water cycle.

   

   Wuhan, population 10 million, is one of the first of 16 cities in China to launch project Sponge City – a flexible solution for both water-scarce and water-logged cities.

   The Challenge:

   Opportunities for land use and infrastructure servicing practitioners to make a difference are at the time of (re)development. To those folks we say: share and learn from those who are leading change; design with nature; ‘get it right’ at the front-end of the project; build-in ‘water resilience’; create a lasting legacy.

   Many land and infrastructure professionals in this province do know in principle what they ought to do. However, there is still a gap between UNDERSTANDING and IMPLEMENTATION. This results in a capacity-building challenge: on the one hand, we can provide practitioners with water balance tools and resources; it is another matter for those folks to apply the tools and resources.

   Mission Possible:

   Yes, British Columbia is progressing. Yet communities could do so much more if they would capitalize on rather than miss opportunities. Apply the tools. Do what is right. Learn from experience. Adapt. Pass the baton. The Partnership spotlight is on how to ‘bridge the gap’ between talk and action. As champions for the Whole-System, Water Balance Approach, we are developing tools and resources for use by local governments.

   In the weeks ahead, the Partnership will release details of water balance program deliverables funded by the governments of Canada and British Columbia. STAY TUNED!

   

   The physics are straightforward: 7% additional water volume for each degree of temperature rise. This is the global part. If communities are serious about ensuring RESILIENCY, then the critical strategies and actions are those that relate to water.

10. SAVE THE DATE (Nov 28) TO BE INSPIRED – CBC’s Bob McDonald (Quirks & Quarks) headlines power lineup for “Blue Ecology Workshop”

    June 27, 2017 6:00 am Leave a Comment

    Note to Reader:

    All of us have an impact on the land, on the water, and on the way things look. And decisions made today will ripple through time. The Partnership showcases big ideas through its annual workshop series. We do this to inform choices about land and water.  

    Michael Blackstock’s big idea for interweaving First Nations cultural knowledge and Western science – Blue Ecology – is especially powerful. The essence of Michael’s vision is ‘embrace a water-first approach’. It is an idea whose time has come.

    In this workshop, the Partnership for Water Sustainability’s Ted van der Gulik along with two well-known personalities – the CBC’s Bob McDonald (host, Quirks & Quarks) and Member of Parliament Fin Donnelly – will team with Michael to share their unique and complementary perspectives on a water-first approach. The Fraser River is a centrepiece for the workshop program.

    

    BLUE ECOLOGY

    “The program is visionary yet pragmatic. Bob McDonald, Fin Donnelly and Michael Blackstock are a powerful trio. The Blue Ecology theme, blending First Nations cultural knowledge and Western Science challenges us to be more inclusive when addressing watershed systems,” observes Eric Bonham, elder statesman with the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia. “Bob and Fin are well known individuals and to have both of them on-side and supportive of the work of PWSBC gives credibility. If we can create a documentary out of the workshop that blends Michael’s central message with commentary from Bob and Fin we will have a powerful message indeed. A message going forward that could appeal to a broad range of interest groups.”

    To Learn More:

    Download “Blue Ecology – interweaving First Nations cultural knowledge and Western science” for a program preview.

    To Register:

    https://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/2017/Blue-Ecology