Author Archives: Partnership for Water Sustainability

  1. SEASON IN REVIEW: Waterbucket eNews shares the background stories of community innovators. Learn how experts navigate the social, planning, and engineering challenges of building better communities.

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    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 June 2, 2026 concluded the Winter/Spring 2026 season of stories in the Living Water Smart in British Columbia Series. These stories are about leaders and influencers at milestone moments in Georgia Basin history. The pitfalls of recent housing and professional reliance legislation in British Columbia is a theme that weaves its way through their stories.

     

    ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY & EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER – by Kim Stephens

    Never has storytelling been more important than it is today. And that is because deep knowledge is being lost at an alarming rate. This is the Partnership’s “mission context” for showcasing the stories of those who are leading change that enhances community livability.

    Living Water Smart in British Columbia Series

    Below, the Stephen Denning quote says it all. The Waterbucket eNews platform at waterbucket.ca fills a gap and meets a need by providing a window into “stories behind the stories.”

     

    Share Deep Knowledge Through Storytelling

    We learn through stories. This is how we pass on our oral history. Storytelling is the way we share intergenerational knowledge, experience and wisdom. This is why each and every edition of Waterbucket eNews is built around a conversational interview.

    The Partnership shares the “stories behind the stories” of champions in the local government and stewardship sectors with this outcome in mind: That successive generations will be inspired by can-do leaders and will grow the knowledge network.

    I like the distinction Stephen Denning makes with this quote: “Knowledge-sharing stories tend to be about problems and have a different pattern from the traditional well-told story. They are told with context, and have something traditional stories lack: an explanation.”

    It is about allowing the listener (or reader) to practically digest abstract ideas and implement them, he explains: “Telling stories that build on real knowledge sharing situations, enables individuals to gather in some of the understanding of the storyteller as well as recast the story into their own contextual work environment; hence adding their own understanding to the process”.

    Learn, Do, Adapt, Tell the Story

    The Graham Greene quote is a good way to bring this season of Waterbucket eNews and the Living Water Smart in British Columbia Series to a close. It speaks to the theme of passing on the intergenerational baton to learn from lived experience, apply lessons learned, and adapt to do better in a continuous improvement cycle.

     

    SEASON IN REVIEW: Headlines and Defining Quotable Quotes

    This edition brings to a close the current season (January through May 2026) of the Waterbucket eNews newsletter series. In 2026, we switched from weekly to a fortnightly schedule.

    This edition constitutes our “season in review”. We have kept it simple. To refresh reader memories about the topics and how much ground we have covered, we have brought forward the headline plus defining quotable quote from each of the 10 storylines.

    We resume publication in September. There are so many stories still to share.

    JANUARY 27, 2026: season preview for upcoming Waterbucket eNews stories

    To read the complete story, download a PDF copy of Storytelling to share deep knowledge – preview of stories in the pipeline 

     

    FEBRUARY 4, 2026: When we are part of a network, everyone goes further!

    To read the complete story, download a PDF copy of When we are part of a network, everyone goes further!

     

    FEBRUARY 10, 2026: When provincial bolts out of the blue impact local autonomy

    To read the complete story, download a PDF copy of When provincial bolts out of the blue impact local autonomy 

     

    FEBRUARY 24, 2026: Learn by doing, and adapt to create livable communities – convening for action in Metro Vancouver (Part D of Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation for the years 2006 thru 2011)

    To read the complete story, download a PDF copy of Learn by doing, and adapt to create livable communities – convening for action in Metro Vancouver 

     

    MARCH 10, 2026: Create safe spaces for storytelling in the changing world of asset management

    To read the complete story, download a PDF copy of Create safe spaces for storytelling in the changing world of asset management

     

    MARCH 24, 2026: Resilient Region Design Charrette tackles housing legislation: Regional livability is on the table…again!

    To read the complete story, download a PDF copy of Resilient Region Design Charrette tackles housing legislation: Regional livability is on the table…again!

     

    APRIL 7, 2026: BCIT’s green roof programming an early victim of an ebbing tide

    To read the complete story, download a PDF copy of BCIT’s green roof programming an early victim of an ebbing tide

     

    APRIL 21, 2026: Open Minds, Overcome Inertia, Implement Effective Standards of Practice for Urban Watershed Health (Part E of Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation for the years 2012 thru 2017)

    To read the complete story, download a PDF copy of Open Minds, Overcome Inertia, Implement Effective Standards of Practice for Urban Watershed Health in British Columbia

     

    MAY 5, 2026: Municipal Infrastructure Gap: We are past the point where local governments can catch up

    To read the complete story, download a PDF copy of Municipal Infrastructure Gap: We are past the point where local governments can catch up

     

    MAY 19, 2026: Lead with Civility to Turn the Cultural Tide Together

    To read the complete story, download a PDF copy of Lead with Civility to Turn the Cultural Tide Together

     

     

    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.

     

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2026/05/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Season-Finale-for-Living-Water-Smart-Series_June-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.

    TO LEARN MORE, VISIT: https://waterbucket.ca/about-us/

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/atp/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2025/07/PWSBC_Mid-Year-Report-for-2025_as-posted.pdf

     

  2. LEAD WITH CIVILITY TO TURN THE CULTURAL TIDE TOGETHER: “We ask people to lead in highly complex, high-pressure environments, yet we don’t adequately prepare them for the human dynamics of the role,” stated Diane Kalen-Sukra, internationally recognized thought leader, author, and former municipal CAO in British Columbia

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    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 May 19, 2026 features Diane Kalen-Sukra’s new book, Lead with Civility. For the Partnership, this isn’t just a handbook; it provides the philosophical context we need to fulfill our intergenerational mission. In practice, mentorship and respect are the bridge between different age groups that ensures hard-fought knowledge is never lost.

     

    Take 2 minutes to view the video. It is powerful.

    ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader

    Publication of Lead with Civility in a local government election year is timely. Diane Kalen-Sukra shines the spotlight on leadership and what really matters. For the Partnership, this book provides the philosophical context to fulfill our intergenerational mission; in practice, mentorship and respect are the bridge between different age groups or eras.

    What kind of leader are you?

    Lead with Civility is a modern day mirror for civic leaders, both elected and staff. It presents the reader with a choice of pathways.

    “Bold leaders who lead with civility will restore trust, bring people together, and renew civic culture. Those who don’t will see the weeds of incivility [take over],” Diane Kalen-Sukra says. She shows how doing right by each other builds the shared strength our communities and institutions depend on.

     

    Lead with Civility Portraits

    Diane Kalen-Sukra uses “Lead with Civility Portraits” to provide vivid examples and case studies of civic leaders in action. Some contributed guest essays, including four British Columbians, namely Henry Braun, Patricia Ross, Bill Sims and Maja Tait.

     

    EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER –
    by Kim Stephens

    “The election of Donald Trump to the US presidency opened a Pandora’s box,”  stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director. “The cascading impact of his uncivility spilled across the US-British Columbia border and has poisoned our well. Over the past decade, the consequences of incivility have been playing out in the world of local government. Now what?”

     

    NOW WHAT: Out of the ashes comes renewal

    “History reminds us that seasons of civic decay and renewal are not new, writes Diane Kalen-Sukra. Based on what I am observing, local government is at a tipping point. Could Lead with Civility be the spark that catalyzes action to turn the cultural tide?”

     

     

    “Turning the tide is not easy. The challenge is to overcome amnesia and inertia. It takes effort and energy to get everyone moving in the right direction. But once you do, anything is possible! This was Lower Mainland experience a generation ago (refer to chart). If it happened once, it could happen again. It is all about creating a movement that builds momentum,” concludes Kim Stephens,

     

    STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Turning the Cultural Tide Together – Diane Kalen-Sukra is a passionate advocate and tireless champion for restoring civility

    EDITOR’S NOTE: My objective in providing the selection of quotes that follow is to inspire you, the reader, to take the next step and read Diane Kalen-Sukra’s book. The downloadable document version of this story behind the story provides further insight. Australian podcaster Chris Eddy captured it well when he wrote: 

     

    Leaders are gardeners of civic culture, how we prepare them matters

     

    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: Lead with Civility to Turn the Cultural Tide Together.

     

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wscblog/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/sites/8/2026/05/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Lead-with-Civility-book-by-Diane-Kalen-Sukra_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.

    TO LEARN MORE, VISIT: https://waterbucket.ca/about-us/

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/atp/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2025/07/PWSBC_Mid-Year-Report-for-2025_as-posted.pdf

     

  3. MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE GAP: “The public continues to expect better and better service, but are less and less willing to pay. It’s a challenging place to be!” – Bill Sims, freshly retired General Manager of Engineering and Public Works

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    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 May 5, 2026 two municipal asset management thought leaders: featured Bill Sims and Wally Wells. They have looked at the growing Municipal Infrastructure Gap with fresh eyes. And what they see is a slow-moving financial crisis. They point the way forward with a call for a course correction that tempers expectations for demands on municipal services.

     

    ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader

    “Lately I have been reminding folks that in the 1970s, Canada saw an infrastructure funding boom – everyone built arenas, pools, sewers and water systems on 25 cent dollars,” states Bill Sims,  freshly retired General Manager of Engineering and Public Works (City of Nanaimo)

     

    Are you talking the right language to Councils?

    “So, you tell Council that you have aging infrastructure. But the message does not resonate,” observes Wally Wells. “Are you talking the right language? The answer is no! That got me thinking. Where does the asset management process and plan fit into the big picture for councils?”

     

    THE CONUNDRUM: When the public demands more and more services but is not willing to fund the costs

    “The tax increases in local governments that some perceive as high aren’t even touching this funding gap,” continues Bill Sims. “Senior government funding has been shrinking since the 1990s, and the local property tax regime is woefully inadequate to meet the needs of the day.”

    Local governments are falling further and further behind: 

    “The public continues to expect better and better service from local governments but are less and less willing to pay. What this means for the municipal infrastructure gap is that we are backsliding! Financially, this is a difficult and challenging place for local governments to be in.”

     

     

    EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER – by Kim Stephens

    “In the story behind the story, Bill Sims and Wally Wells remind us of an important context. The 1960s and 1970s were the heydays of nation building projects. Federal investment to replace sub-standard sewer, water and road systems and to raise levels of service was massive and game changing,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

    Context for the growing Municipal Infrastructure Gap

    “Two generations ago, 75% grants made the front-end costs of infrastructure programs deceptively affordable for local governments. A half-century later, the back-end costs for replacement of deteriorating infrastructure have come due.”

    “The legacy from the past is playing out as unintended consequences for affordability in the contemporaneous context. The Municipal Infrastructure Gap is growing year-after-year and is a slow-moving crisis.”

     

     

    “Those in the world of asset management know there is a problem. What Bill Sims and Wally Wells are saying, however, is that we are beyond the point of no return. The numbers tell a story. Local governments cannot catch up. This is a difficult and challenging situation to be in,” concludes Kim Stephens.

    The situation calls for a course correction

    “We have created a high level of service that we cannot possibly sustain,” states Bill Sims. “We need to get civics back on the menu. And we must give elected officials and senior staff the language and tools to temper expectations and shift the public’s understanding of the services they receive.”

     

     

    STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Municipal Infrastructure Gap –
    We are past the point where local governments can catch up (synthesis of a conversational interview with Bill Sims and Wally Wells)

    EDITOR’S NOTE: The complete transcript of my interview with Bill Sims and Wally Walls is included in the downloadable document version of this story behind the story. The storyline is structured as three theme areas and what follows is a streamlined narrative.

    The contextual background for our conversation was provided by a post on LinkedIn by Bill Sims in combination with a presentation by Mike Matejka to the Asset Management BC Community-of-Practice on March 12, 2026 about his Cranbrook municipal experience.

    A picture is worth 1000 words to set the scene for a conversation

    Titled Services & Sustainability, the presentation by Mike Matejka builds to the image below. It is defining in demonstrating how the increased cost of construction has outpaced increases in local government funding for replacement public works. What are the on-the-ground implications for a growing municipal infrastructure gap?

     

    What the numbers tell us

    Less work is being done. There are funding shortfalls for much needed projects. And so on. To illustrate the consequential impact of the diverging paths, Mike Matejka provided a decadal comparison for the City of Cranbrook road reconstruction program: The scope of work was reduced rom 10 blocks per year in 2017 to 4 blocks per year in 2024.

    We are falling further and further behind…because of a mindset problem

    “When Mike Matejka presented that slide, my reaction was ohmigosh. It was a game changer for me. Mike got me re-thinking how we have framed the asset management issue and how we should reframe it,” states Wally Wells.

    “When Bill Sims wrote his post, he connected dots that are either forgotten or never known. Unless there is a transformational mindset change about how to finance asset renewal, we are past the point where local governments can catch up That is the issue!”

     

    Change the mindset to one of reducing demand for services to levels that are affordable and sustainable

    “Most folks in local government and around the world understand the nature of the asset management problem,” continues Bill Sims. “But councils have a short-term focus on what can be built during their term. Underground infrastructure or asset management is boring to them. Yet it is so core to the functioning of any government. It is an absolutely critical piece.”

     

    The infrastructure gap is a slow-moving financial crisis that is consequential for local governments

    “The asset management process does not include futures,” states Wally Wells. “Only when an asset is newly constructed is it added to the register. That disconnect got me thinking. Infrastructure must one day be replaced. In the meantime, what do we do with the futures stuff, really?”

    “Where does the asset management process and plan fit into the big picture for municipal councils? Councils have dealt with the futures stuff and the need for master plans for decades. But what is missing from the futures agenda is an equal master plan dealing with the future condition of existing infrastructure.”

     

    Communication Gap is Consequential

    “As much as we have tried, we have not given the proportionate tools to our municipal councils to really understand and grasp the magnitude of the growing infrastructure gap over the last several decades. It is a slow-moving crisis,” Bill Sims concludes.

     

     

    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:  Municipal Infrastructure Gap – We are past the point where local governments can catch up.

     

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2026/04/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Bill-Sims-and-Wally-Wells_Municipal-Infrastructure-Gap_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.

    TO LEARN MORE, VISIT: https://waterbucket.ca/about-us/

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/atp/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2025/07/PWSBC_Mid-Year-Report-for-2025_as-posted.pdf

     

     

  4. EVERY DECADE A DEFINING QUESTION IS THIS ONE: How will Southwest British Columbia absorb millions more people AND restore urban watershed health?

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    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 April 21, 2026 featured the fifth installment of the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver. Part E covers the period 2012 through 2017. This sweeping narrative weaves quotable quotes to provide the reader with a perspective on Metro Vancouver collaboration with four other regional districts bordering the Salish Sea.

    While it was a defining period for inter-regional collaboration, something happened in Metro Vancouver to change the trajectory. After 2017, the gap between understanding and implementation widened rather than being bridged.

     

    ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader

    The Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation brings to life an exciting period in local government “convening for action” history. The storyline weaves quotable quotes by those who were in the frontlines of the green infrastructure movement, and reveals their stories behind the story.

     

    How do you overcome inertia? Peer-based learning plus collaboration across boundaries!

    “Creating change is not easy. We talk a lot about barriers that must be overcome. But the real issue is inertia. It takes effort and energy to get everyone moving in the right direction. And it requires a willingness to take calculated risks,” emphasizes Richard Boase.

    “By 2012, we had good reasons for optimism when we looked ahead. A network of champions in local government was in play. The design with nature message was sinking in. The Province had the Partnership’s back. We had political support in five regions. Overcoming inertia seemed just around the corner.”

    Then what happened?

    In the moment, the period 2012 through 2017 was defined by “hope and optimism.” With the perspective of time, however, the period is more appropriately characterized as one of “unfulfilled promise.” After 2017, a series of events changed the trajectory for overcoming inertia. But that is the story for another day. In the meantime…

     

    EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER – by Kim Stephens

    “Why is knowing this history important?” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

    “What can we learn from the period 2012 through 2017?”

    “What takeaways and insights should we apply in 2026? Will we?”

    Context is everything. Polarization, COVID and AI. This harmful combination impacted the trajectory for what might otherwise have been achieved through peer-based learning and collaboration across boundaries.

    A decade later, restoration of urban watershed health is an “unfulfilled promise.” Why? Because inertia stymies universal, consistent implementation of effective standards of development practice.

     

    Vision for settlement, economy and ecology in balance is still our Mission Possible

    “It matters how we share information to ensure concepts are conveyed to, and understood by, the people who need to know. Solutions to the issues of our time lie in WHAT stories we tell and HOW we tell those stories. That is the value of the Green Infrastructure Chronicle as  legacy resource.”

    “Coming out of the 2006 through 2011 “golden period”, peer-based learning and collaboration had demonstrated what could be. When all the players know their role in relation to the goal, together we can create the future we all want. We continue to remind our audiences that is how they can achieve mission impact.”

    Open minds, overcome inertia, implement effective standards of practice

    “Ten guiding principles flow from local government experience gained through the Convening for Action in British Columbia program. These principles are actionable, essential ingredients for achieving Mission Possible which is settlement, economy and ecology in balance.”

     

    STORY BEHIND THE STORY OF THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE CHRONICLE: Open minds, overcome inertia, implement effective standards of practice for urban watershed health in BC

    The Green Infrastructure Chronicle covers the period between 1994 and 2024. At 700-plus pages, it is a tome. By definition, tome means it is both unusually large and unusually important. The Chronicle is oral history and the storyline is a work-in-progress because the story is not finished.

    Since the 1990s, drainage has been a galvanizing issue for sustainable development. The cumulative impacts of land use changes on stream function are proven. Streamside protection regulation is a fact of life. We understand how to turn problems into solutions. But we keep failing to overcome inertia.

    Georgia Basin IREI builds on a long and rich history

    The Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Education Initiative is the foundation for the initiatives described in Part E of the Chronicle. Launched in 2012, the IREI is a unique mechanism for inter-regional and inter-governmental collaboration. The Georgia Bason Initiative seeded the idea for it in1994.

     

    Complementary regional lenses produced a complete picture of the Urban Watershed Health issue

    Entering the 2010s, watershed and stream health and rainwater management were priorities for communities on the east coast of Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland region.

    Metro Vancouver, Capital Region, Cowichan Region, Nanaimo Region and Comox Valley regional districts are IREI founding members. Each region had a vision and goals for water and watershed sustainability. This commonality was the point of departure for sharing and learning from each other.

     

    Annual milestones in a collaborative process

    Communities were struggling with the question of how best to move forward on the Watershed Health issue, particularly in light of a changing climate and financial drivers to provide higher levels-of-service at reduced levels-of-cost. Inter-regional collaboration helped each region understand what the other regions are doing, what works and what does not. ‘

     

    “Beyond the Guidebook 2015” is the centrepiece of the story about the period 2012 through 2017

    Outcomes resulting from collaboration across boundaries are documented in Beyond the Guidebook 2015: Moving Towards “Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management”. But Beyond the Guidebook 2015 is much, much more.

    At one level, it is a progress report on “convening for action” in the five Georgia Basin regions bordering the Salish Sea. Overarching, however, is that it includes a road map for integrating watershed thinking into municipal asset management.

     

    Sustainable Urban Watershed Systems can be achieved through Municipal Asset Management

    Cascading Objectives inform a whole-system approach to land use

    HISTORY AT A GLANCE: Convening for action in the Georgia Basin between 2012 and 2017

    COLOUR CODE: yellow is Georgia Basin in scope and white is specific to Metro Vancouver

     

    TABLE OF CONTENTS: for Chronicle and for Part E

    Structured in ten segments, Part E provides the reader with perspective on Metro Vancouver collaboration with other regional districts bordering the Salish Sea.

    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: Open Minds, Overcome Inertia, Implement Effective Standards of Practice for Urban Watershed Health in British Columbia.

     

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/gi/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/04/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Kim-Stephens-on-Overcoming-Inertia_2026_with-Part-E.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.

    TO LEARN MORE, VISIT: https://waterbucket.ca/about-us/

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/atp/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2025/07/PWSBC_Mid-Year-Report-for-2025_as-posted.pdf

     

  5. OUT OF THE ASHES CAME THE GREEN ROOF INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK: Christine Thuring, co-founder of GRIN, explains how “Green Roof Champions” in British Columbia are bridging the knowledge gap to use green infrastructure for fire suppression and climate resilience

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    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 April 7, 2026 featured Christine Thuring, green roof champion. She is the founding executive director and public face of GRIN, which is the acronym for Green Roof Infrastructure Network of British Columbia. The GRIN story is a great story in that it links the past to the present and future and where GRIN wants to take a re-energized green roof movement.

     

    ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader

    “Twenty years after inception, BCIT suspended green roof courses until further notice in 2022. Because green roofs no longer had a voice in BC, a group of us decided to do something about that. We created GRIN,” states Dr. Christine Thuring. Her claim to fame is that she is the first person in North  America to obtain a green roof-focused master’s degree!

    Christine Thuring  is the Executive Director of the Green Roof Infrastructure Network (GRIN), a newly created society. Recruited by Dr. Maureen Connelly in 2006, she taught at BCIT’s Centre for Architectural Ecology and remembers the profile it once had.

     

    Christine Thuring has embraced the “green roof baton” passed on to her from Maureen Connelly. In 2023, Christine engaged colleagues and co-established GRIN as a means of continuing delivery of the first credited green roof course in Canada.

    Out of the ashes came GRIN, the Green Roof Infrastructure Network

    “Part of the vision for GRIN is the N for network. There are so many silos out there. Everyone is saying different things and yet we are in a climate emergency and biodiversity crisis. Even the term Green Infrastructure is not all encompassing anymore.”

     

    EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER – by Kim Stephens

    “The Partnership celebrates the work of the group of green infrastructure champions who are the driving force behind GRIN. Their story behind the story as told by Christine Thuring is a great story. It links past to present and future and where GRIN wants to take a re-energized green roof movement,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

     

    Fast forward to the present day

    “With my mid-2000s memories as my context, it came as a surprise to learn from Christine that the BCIT Green Roof Research Facility was no more. How could this have happened, I asked? Not that long ago, I recalled, the green roof movement was a hot topic in this region. It offered such promise.”

     

     

    “The story behind the story is that Christine Thuring and her GRIN colleagues are committed to putting green roofs back on municipal radar screens. They have a vision, they have a plan, and they are doing outreach. It takes passion, hard work, and perseverance to have mission impact.”

     

    A vision with a task is the hope of the world

    “The Partnership sees volunteers and groups such as GRIN stepping up in response to a need. They are helping to bridge a knowledge gap. That certainly is the essence of the Partnership’s story. Policy frameworks have not changed. It is effective and consistent execution and implementation that are lacking.”

    “In the world of local government, we observe deep knowledge being ignored or dismissed at an alarming rate. This is playing out as an ebbing political tide. Storytelling is needed more than ever. Solutions to the issues of our time lie in WHAT stories we tell and HOW we tell those stories.”

    “The Partnership is showcasing GRIN because that helps to advance the vision for network collaboration within a constellation of networks. In these busy times, there is tremendous value in networks that help solve problems together,” concluded Kim Stephens.

     

    STORY BEHIND THE STORY: BCIT’s green roof programming was an early victim of an ebbing tide – synthesis of a conversational interview with Dr. Christine Thuring

    The complete transcript of the interview with Christine Thuring is included in the downloadable document version of this story behind the story. The storyline that follows is an edited narrative of the highlights from two of three theme areas.

     

    BCIT green roof history under the leadership of Maureen Connelly is the context for GRIN

    “I came to British Columbia in 2006 at the invitation of Maureen Connelly to join the staff of the BCIT Centre for Advancement of Green Roof Technology as it was then known, When Maureen took early retirement (in 2022), I was still there on faculty and thought surely they won’t cancel the centre.  And then it was the first thing to go (with budget cuts),” Christine Thuring explains.

    Out of the ashes

    “Many of my industry colleagues and I had organized tours and taught courses about green roofs. When BCIT suspended the program, we concluded that if BCIT is not giving a voice to green roofs anymore, then that means nobody is talking about green roofs in this province.”

    “We decided that somebody has to do something and that is what led to GRIN. It was my pivot. GRIN is my passion project.”

     

    GRIN embraces a top-down and bottom-up approach and strives to cultivate green roof champions

    “Despite the Metro Vancouver region’s early promise, the green roofs movement has definitely not grown in the way anyone expected it to. Looking back, there were signs of trouble. Political will was waning compared to most parts of the world that had been part of the green roofs revolution.”

    Ebbing political tide

    “The high water mark for the region was in 2018 when Vancouver City Council passed a motion to create a policy requiring green roofs on new buildings and providing maximum opportunity to have them retrofitted in existing ones. The motion died quietly, reportedly because it was not a political priority.”

     

    What matters is top-down and bottom-up 

    “When we began our GRIN green roof tours in 2023, they involved much advocacy. We reached out to mayors and councillors, going to their offices, giving our presentations and saying:

     

     

    “Is it top-down or bottom-up? Or do you need both? That is what we are playing around with. We started high up, meeting with mayors and councils and taking them on tours. But it is the turnover on councils that kills momentum. And with 2026 being an election year, it is a dead zone until the next cycle.”

    Onwards and upwards

    “We are in a lull with our municipal outreach. But it has been great to connect with citizens from lots of different interest groups. If we can at least grow the literacy of the population, who can then confidently demand certain things from their councils, that is bottom-up and very organic.”

    “We are using the upcoming tour for World Green Roof Day as a way to test where Vancouver civic political parties stand on green roofs,” concludes Christine Thuring.

     

    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: BCIT green roof programming an early victim of an ebbing tide.

     

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2026/03/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Christine-Thuring-and-green-roof-movement_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.

    TO LEARN MORE, VISIT: https://waterbucket.ca/about-us/

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/atp/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2025/07/PWSBC_Mid-Year-Report-for-2025_as-posted.pdf

     

  6. RESILIENT REGION DESIGN CHARRETTE TACKLES NEW HOUSING LEGISLATION: “Regional livability is definitely on the table again. Everybody is thinking about the housing legislation now. Mayors are hearing from their constituents,” stated Patrick Condon, UBC professor emeritus and author of Broken City

    Comments Off on RESILIENT REGION DESIGN CHARRETTE TACKLES NEW HOUSING LEGISLATION: “Regional livability is definitely on the table again. Everybody is thinking about the housing legislation now. Mayors are hearing from their constituents,” stated Patrick Condon, UBC professor emeritus and author of Broken City

     

    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 March 24, 2026 featured Patrick Condon, UBC Professor Emeritus. He has long been the champion in British Columbia for the “charrette process” as a design methodology for achieving sustainable community design.

    Now retired, Patrick Condon continues to give back. He is contributing seed funding and energy to revive the idea of a Resilient Region Design Charrette as a vehicle to help reduce social pain in accommodating population growth.

     

    ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader

    Many individuals have played important roles in the green infrastructure movement in British Columbia. But whose efforts have truly been “make or break”? UBC’s Patrick Condon is one such leader. He pioneered the use of the charrette method in the field of sustainable community design as applied to urban planning in British Columbia.

     

    The 2026 Resilient Region Design Charrette is a collaborative approach to integrating growth in Metro Vancouver

    “The charrette method is the crucible for actually getting disparate people at the table who understand, as designers, how to put the pieces together comprehensively in something that is visual. It is future casting in three dimensions,” Patrick Condon states. He held the James Taylor Chair in Landscape and Liveable Environments until his retirement in 2025.

     

    EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

    “Patrick Condon is a sustainable urban design thought leader. Although recently retired, his mission continues as he continues to give back – for example, he seeded the Resilient Region Design Charrette with a contribution of $80,000 from the James Taylor Chair research fund in 2025,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

    “Patrick Condon and my career paths became intertwined almost 30 years ago when he conceived and led the charrette process for the East Clayton Sustainable Community in Surrey. Patrick also contributed to the success of UniverCity atop Burnaby Mountain.”

     

     

    “The East Clayton and UniverCity twin successes were the springboard to what Patrick Condon subsequently accomplished via his Sustainability by Design charrette series during the 2000s,” concluded Kim Stephens.

    Patrick Condon advocates striving for Good Solutions rather than Perfect Solutions to reduce social pain

    “I am reviving with Derek Lee the idea of a regional charrette prompted by a lot of the same kinds of housing, transportation, and ecological issues that informed the original Sustainability by Design series,” explains Patrick Condon.

    “Metro Vancouver faces increasing resistance to provincially mandated Transit-Oriented Area (TOA) development amid concerns over the impacts of rapid densification. Without coordinated planning, this growth risks producing fragmented, unaffordable, and poorly serviced communities.”

     

     

    STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Resilient Region Design Charrette tackles housing legislation – synthesis of a conversation with Patrick Condon about why regional livability is on the table again 

    The complete transcript of the interview with Patrick Condon is included in the downloadable document version of this story behind the story. Structured as four theme areas, the storyline that follows is an edited and visual narrative of the highlights.

    1-Patrick Condon situates the 2006 Sustainability by Design Charrette within a broader regional history

    “The Sustainability by Design Charrette was one of many undertaken across the region over about a decade,” Patrick Condon states. “All shared a common aim: to visualize what a sustainable metropolitan region could look like.”

    “These efforts were driven initially by ecological concerns—particularly the protection of water resources—but also integrated neighbourhood quality, proximity of jobs and services, and access to nature as both a recreational and ecological asset.”

     

     

    “Yet housing affordability, relative to incomes, is now worse than in cities that built far less. This directly challenges the prevailing assumption that affordability is simply a matter of insufficient supply.”

    2-Patrick Condon explains why unintended consequences result from draconian actions

    “There is a second dynamic in play,” continues Patrick Codon. “The provincial government has come to believe that planners, local regulations, and public processes are obstacles to affordability. Recent housing legislation reflects this view, sweeping aside much of the local planning framework.”

     

     

    “These approaches are unlikely to deliver their promised outcomes,” warns Patrick Condon. “The cost will be the erosion of livability, sustainability, and long-term fiscal efficiency. Infrastructure costs, in particular, will rise sharply on a per-capita basis, increasing the burden on taxpayers.”

     

    3-Patrick Condon makes the case for the 2-track structure for the Resilient Region Design Charrette

    “The Resilient Region Charrette initiative has two objectives,” Patrick Condon emphasizes. “First, it will test whether the new legislative framework can, in fact, deliver affordability without undermining ecological services or increasing public costs.”

    “Second, it will explore whether the stated goals of the legislation—rather than its specific prescriptions—can be achieved more effectively through alternative approaches.”

     

     

    “The essence of the charrette process is that it brings the right people together, facilitated by skilled urban designers, to collaboratively produce three-dimensional designs, cost them, analyze outcomes, and translate results into publications and actionable policy recommendations.”

    4-Patrick Condon elaborates on how the Resilient Region Design Charrette addresses a central concern

    “The Resilient Region Charrette would address the false assumption that deregulation alone will produce affordability,” states Patrick Condon categorically. “The charrette offers municipalities tools to respond constructively to the new framework without abandoning decades of progress on ecological, social, and technical fronts.”

     

     

    “Success is never guaranteed but the objective is not certainty—it is participation, contribution, and reducing social pain. The current moment, shaped by public concern and municipal resistance, is a rare and teachable one.”

     

     

    “Charrettes succeed because they harness collective intelligence, intuition, and experience to produce “good”—not perfect—outcomes that are socially negotiated, visually grounded, and practically useful.”

     

     

    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: Resilient Region Design Charrette tackles housing legislation – regional livability is on the table…again!.

     

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2026/03/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Patrick-Condon_Resilient-Region-Charrette_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.

    TO LEARN MORE, VISIT: https://waterbucket.ca/about-us/

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/atp/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2025/07/PWSBC_Mid-Year-Report-for-2025_as-posted.pdf

     

  7. ASSET MANAGEMENT BC HOSTS “SAFE SPACE FORUM” FOR MUNICIPAL STAFF: “Maybe saying you do not have all the answers and asking for help, or saying that you have made mistakes, is a greater sign of strength than suggesting you are infallible.” – Gracelyn Day and Mike Matejka, co-chairs of the Asset Management BC Community-of-Practice

    Comments Off on ASSET MANAGEMENT BC HOSTS “SAFE SPACE FORUM” FOR MUNICIPAL STAFF: “Maybe saying you do not have all the answers and asking for help, or saying that you have made mistakes, is a greater sign of strength than suggesting you are infallible.” – Gracelyn Day and Mike Matejka, co-chairs of the Asset Management BC Community-of-Practice

     

    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 March 10, 2026 featured Gracelyn Shannon and Mike Matejka, co-chairs of Asset Management BC’s community-of-practice. They share the story behind the story of why and how they came to organize a safe space forum at the annual Asset Management BC conference. Local government people need a safe space to share their stories of struggle, they explain. Out of conversations come solutions to problems faced by everyone in local government.

     

    ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader

    “At our recent annual conference, Asset Management BC tried something different. We hosted a safe space forum for local government staff only. And Gracelyn and Mike facilitated it,” explains Arnold Schwabe, Executive Director.

     

    The story is the context

     

    EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

    “Pain points. Safe space. Sharing stories of struggles. Turning problems into solutions. That was the mind map that framed how Arnold, Gracelyn and Mike approached their Asset Management BC sharing and learning forum last November,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

     

    Peer-based learning turns problems into solutions

    “When Gracelyn and Mike shared their story with me, I understood instantly how their enthusiasm must have energized the room and got everyone excited about collaborating to turn problems into solutions. What more could anyone ask for, I observed, in organizing this type of peer-based learning event.”

     

     

    “And what was really interesting is that during our conversation Gracelyn and Mike transitioned to talking about WHAT NEXT. When you are successful, people ask what you will do for an encore. In the case of Gracelyn and Mike, stay tuned for the sequel in November 2026 at the next Asset Management BC conference!”

     

    STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Create safe spaces for storytelling in a changing world – highlights from a conversation with Gracelyn, Mike and Arnold 

    “We have people who show up the night before the annual conference. We had noticed that some would be in the bar talking about what is working and what is not. So, it seemed like a natural progression for Asset Management BC to create a forum for them to get together in a bigger room,” stated Arnold Schwabe to start the reflection process.

     

     

    GRACELYN: “At conferences, it is great to hear about the amazing work that everybody has done. A couple of years ago, Mike and I concluded we also need a bit of space to talk about how we have screwed up. Within a year, we became co-chairs of the Asset Management BC community-of-practice.”

     

     

    GRACELYN: “We did not want it to be a bitch session. We wanted it to be a learning session. We wanted everyone to think through how we contribute and how we add to the solution. That is going to help the conversation be productive for everyone involved. Once the group was warmed up, we could jump into lessons learned.”

    MIKE: “We asked the group to frame lessons learned in terms of when we got into this position, this is how we got ourselves out. Even though people would be talking about some negatives or criticisms, it would always be how they hoped to get themselves out of it.”

    “If people did have challenges that they did not have solutions to yet, we encouraged them to use the room or the conference as an opportunity.”

     

    Closing Perspective by Arnold Schwabe

     

    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: Create safe spaces for storytelling in the changing world of asset management.

     

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2026/03/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Asset-Management-BC-creates-safe-space_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.

    TO LEARN MORE, VISIT: https://waterbucket.ca/about-us/

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/atp/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2025/07/PWSBC_Mid-Year-Report-for-2025_as-posted.pdf

     

     

     

  8. SET THE GOAL, LEARN BY DOING, AND ADAPT TO CREATE LIVABLE COMMUNITIES: The context for action in the 2000s was the need to accommodate an extra million people by Year 2030 yet preserve regional livability

    Comments Off on SET THE GOAL, LEARN BY DOING, AND ADAPT TO CREATE LIVABLE COMMUNITIES: The context for action in the 2000s was the need to accommodate an extra million people by Year 2030 yet preserve regional livability

     

    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 February 24, 2026 featured the fourth installment of the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver. Part D covers the period 2006 through 2011. This sweeping narrative weaves quotable quote to provide the reader with a sense of the level of activity and how this activity generated green infrastructure momentum in the Metro Vancouver region.

     

    ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader

    How would the Metro Vancouver region absorb another one million people and remain livable? That was the defining question in the 2000s. The Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation is a sweeping narrative. It brings to life an exciting period in local government “convening for action” history. There was critical mass to implement changes in development practices.

     

    Build a network to foster innovation

    Heavy on images and light on text, the Chronicle weaves a storyline using quotable quotes that reveal the stories behind the story. The Chronicle is an oral history for the past three decades. With this edition of Waterbucket eNews, we release Part D. It covers years 2006 through 2011.

     

    Why the stories behind the story as told in the Green Infrastructure Chronicle matter today

    It was a defining period for making a difference regionally through the power of collaboration, partnerships, and alignment of levels of government. Energy released by the Georgia Basin Initiative in the mid-1990s played out consequentially through the  2000s in the Metro Vancouver region.

    EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

    “In the 2000s, the Province and the Real Estate Foundation of BC jointly funded my role as program coordinator for the Water Sustainability Action Plan for BC. My responsibility was to bring together individuals and organizations in the Lower Mainland, on Vancouver Island and in the Okanagan to form partnerships, collaborate and convene for action. It was a bold undertaking,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

    “The vision for a regional team approach to implementing the New Business As Usual inspired audiences. Momentum kept building. So much so, that we framed what we were doing as MISSION POSSIBLE. By 2010, we had good reason to celebrate the moment. BC was clearly at a tipping point.”

    Settlement, Economy and Ecology in Balance is Mission Possible

     

    “The regional team approach delivered results across boundaries in Southwest BC. Political will and collaboration powered mission possible in the 2000s.”

     

    Political will and support cascaded from Province to region to local

    Convening for action in Metro Vancouver as the Green Infrastructure Partnership 

    In the Metro Vancouver, we convened as the Green Infrastructure Partnership. On Vancouver Island, we convened as CAVI-Leadership in Water Sustainability. A critical success factor was the cross-pollination between the two initiatives. We built on what we learned through the Convening for Action in the South Okanagan pilot. The building blocks process was inter-regional in scope.

     

    BEYOND THE GUIDEBOOK 2010: Implementing a New Culture for Urban Watershed Protection and Restoration in British Columbia

    Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for BC ushered in the view of rainwater runoff as a resource to be respected. By 2010, we believed that BC was at a tipping point. Implementation of a new culture for urban watershed protection and restoration seemed within our grasp. By explaining how we had arrived at this tipping point, Beyond the Guidebook 2010 added depth to the Guidebook.

     

    STORY BEHIND THE STORY OF THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE CHRONICLE: learn by doing, and adapt to create livable communities – convening for action in Metro Vancouver

    The Green Infrastructure Chronicle covers the period between 1994 and 2024. At 700-plus pages, it is a tome. By definition, tome means it is both unusually large and unusually important. The  Chronicle is oral history and the storyline is a work-in-progress because we are moving along a continuum.

    With 2026 coming soon, how the next five to ten years play out depends on whether and how effectively municipalities adapt to implement the “streams and trees component” of the Metro Vancouver region’s updated Integrated Liquid Waste and Resource Management Plan. It is an essential piece of the strategy for ensuring a livable region and thus quality of life.

    HISTORY AT A GLANCE: Convening for action in the Georgia Basin between 2006 and 2011

    In the 2000s, drainage was a galvanizing issue for sustainable development. The cumulative impacts of land use changes on stream function were proven. Implementation of streamside protection regulation was a fact of life. We understood how to turn problems into solutions.

     

    COLOUR CODE: yellow is Georgia Basin in scope and white is specific to Metro Vancouver

     

    Two unifying threads weave through Part D. Thread One was that the provincial government provided green infrastructure leadership during this period, with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs mantra being: Today’s expectations are tomorrow’s standards.

    Thread Two was the regulatory requirement that Metro Vancouver municipalities develop integrated plans pursuant to the rainwater (i.e. streams and trees) component of the region’s Integrated Liquid Waste and Resource Management Plan. This provided a reason for convening for action!

    QUOTABLE QUOTES: Peer-based sharing and learning the driver for convening for action

    UNTOLD STORY: Incorporation of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in November 2010

    The inaugural REFBC Land Awards Gala on November 18, 2010 is the event of record for the formal announcement about incorporation of the Partnership as a legal entity. What few know is that Premier Gordon Campbell was originally scheduled to make the announcement. But it was not to be because he resigned as premier on November 3, 2010.

     

    Boldness has genius, power and magic in it

    “Collaboration is essential. We also have to bring people together. If we find a common purpose that we are pursuing together, there really is nothing that we cannot accomplish,” exhorted Premier Campbell.

    “Look long term. Think about what is best for the future. Not for you, but for those who will follow you. Think about how we can create a better environment that others can live in and benefit from.”

    “We get to make our own choices. We get to make our own future. We just have to have the vision to imagine, and the tenacity to pursue it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”

    TABLE OF CONTENTS: for Chronicle and for Part D

     

    Part D is structured in twelve segments to tell the stories behind the story for the years between 2006 and 2011. It provides the reader with a sense of the level of activity and how this activity generated green infrastructure momentum in the Metro Vancouver region.

     

    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: Learn by doing, and adapt to create livable communities – convening for action in Metro Vancouver.

     

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2026/01/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Kim-Stephens-on-Learning-by-Doing-Part-D_2025.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.

    TO LEARN MORE, VISIT: https://waterbucket.ca/about-us/

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/atp/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2025/07/PWSBC_Mid-Year-Report-for-2025_as-posted.pdf

     

  9. WHEN PROVINCIAL BOLTS OUT OF THE BLUE IMPACT LOCAL AUTONOMY: “Housing should be about building homes that people can afford in communities that work,” stated Ken Cameron, regional planning thought leader in British Columbia

    Comments Off on WHEN PROVINCIAL BOLTS OUT OF THE BLUE IMPACT LOCAL AUTONOMY: “Housing should be about building homes that people can afford in communities that work,” stated Ken Cameron, regional planning thought leader in British Columbia

     

    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 February 10, 2026 featured Ken Cameron, a regional planning thought leader in British Columbia. The Partnership purpose in sharing his story is to put a legacy resource on the record about 75 years of planning in the Metro Vancouver region. This edition complements that published in October 2024 and titled Understand why the Livable Region Strategic Plan matters. It also featured reflections by Ken Cameron.

     

    ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader

    Ken Cameron provides an invaluable historical perspective on the context and evolution of regional planning in British Columbia. In this edition, he draws a parallel between draconian actions by the Province in two eras: elimination of regional planning in the 1980s; imposition of housing legislation in the 2020s.

    Draconian actions produce unintended outcomes

    “In the early 1980s, the Province took the draconian step of legislating the elimination of planning as a function of all regional districts and cancelling all Official Regional Plans. In a defining moment of our history, Metro municipalities pushed back,” states Ken Cameron.

     

     

    EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

    “Ken Cameron is a treasure trove of lived experience. During his local government career he guided two landmark plans across the finish line. The first was Metro’s Livable Region Strategic Plan. Exactly thirty years ago in February 1996, the plan was blessed by the Province. Second across the finish line was the region’s first Liquid Waste Management Plan in 2001,” stated Kim Stephens, Partnership Executive Director and Waterbucket News Editor.

    For the Imagining Canada in 2100 project, Ken Cameron looked back 75 years in order to look ahead 75 years

    “Ken Cameron is giving back. He is putting the story behind the story of regional planning on the record. He is passing on knowledge through op-eds, conference presentations, and university lectures.”

     

    “Out of the Ashes” is how Ken Cameron frames Metro Vancouver’s Livable Region Strategic Plan

    “I interviewed Ken Cameron the week after his lecture at UBC about 75 Years of Planning in the Vancouver Region. Coincidentally, a week later Metro mayors called a news conference to urge the provincial government to repeal its ill-conceived housing legislation.”

    “The issues today are no different than they were in the  past. They are just more complex and more urgent. Ken Cameron hopes that decision makers would choose to build on past learnings. The housing legislation is draconian. What will come  out of the ashes this time?”

    Metro Vancouver Planning Principles

    “In the three decades since the creation of the Livable Region Strategic Plan, the focus and content of regional planning have evolved in response to change,” wrote Ken Cameron in Metro Vancouver Planning Principles.

     

     

    STORY BEHIND THE STORY:
    When provincial bolts out of the blue impact local autonomy –     quotable quotes from a conversation with Ken Cameron, regional planning thought leader

    Ken Cameron was the first Manager of Policy and Planning with the Greater Vancouver Regional District. He had a leadership role in the original process for developing a vision and then delivering the Livable Region Strategic Plan. Later in his career, Ken Cameron was CEO of the provincial Homeowner Protection Office, which is now part of BC Housing.

     

    “The regional system in BC depends on passion and commitment and voluntary willingness to cooperate,”
    states Ken Cameron in providing big picture context

     

    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: When provincial bolts out of the blue impact local autonomy.

     

    DOWNLOAD A COPY:  https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2026/02/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Ken-Cameron_provincial-bolts-from-blue_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.

    TO LEARN MORE, VISIT: https://waterbucket.ca/about-us/

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/atp/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2025/07/PWSBC_Mid-Year-Report-for-2025_as-posted.pdf

     

  10. WHEN WE ARE PART OF A NETWORK, EVERYONE GOES FURTHER: “In these busy times, there is tremendous value in networks to help solve problems together. We are all yearning for cooperation that will help buttress this wobbly world,” stated Rémi Dubé, moderator for the Ambassadors of the Partnership Forum, and former senior manager in local government

    Comments Off on WHEN WE ARE PART OF A NETWORK, EVERYONE GOES FURTHER: “In these busy times, there is tremendous value in networks to help solve problems together. We are all yearning for cooperation that will help buttress this wobbly world,” stated Rémi Dubé, moderator for the Ambassadors of the Partnership Forum, and former senior manager in local government

     

    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 February 4, 2026 featured Rémi Dubé and his reflections on what was achieved when the Partnership hosted an intergenerational gathering of local government staff, past and current, in January 2026. This was a defining moment in Partnership history. The forum was the springboard for a 3-year transition strategy that addresses the question: Who will lead the Partnership after the Year 2028?

     

    ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader

    “The January 29 2026 Ambassadors of the Partnership Forum will be remembered as the launchpad for the future of the Partnership,” stated Rémi Dubé when he reflected on what was accomplished in bringing together alumni and current local government staff to share stories and learn from each other.

    “Round table discussions clearly demonstrated a desire for collaboration in finding solutions to today’s challenges. The forum was an inter-regional gathering with folks from Vancouver Island, Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Okanagan and East Kootenays.”

     

    When we are part of a network, everyone goes further

    “Our Partnership mission is to build a network that fosters support in developing solutions to today’s water sustainability challenges. These range from land use impacts to climate change, and from higher demands on infrastructure to less support for maintaining these works.”

    “Challenges also range from sharing accurate, scientifically grounded knowledge to weeding through political agendas and misinformation, and from the status quo to embracing a wholistic environmentally sound wisdom.”

    “Some of our ambassadors suggest that we host focused regional forums on specific areas of concern. Some believe field visits similar to the Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation Series in the 2000s can again lead to further cooperation and sharing,” Rémi Dubé concluded.

     

     

    EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / Why there is a Partnership for Water Sustainability

    “The Partnership is honoured that former Premier Mike Harcourt chose to show his support by attending the Ambassadors of the Partnership Forum. One can draw a straight line from his time as Premier in the 1990s to the Forum,” stated Kim Stephens, Partnership Executive Director and Waterbucket eNews Editor, in his overview remarks to ambassadors and friends of  the Partnership. His overview was titled Why there is a Partnership for Water Sustainability.

    “Mike Harcourt was the political champion for a TOP-DOWN AND BOTTOM-UP network approach to collaboration. A defining moment for local governments during his time as Premier was the launch of the transformational Georgia Basin Initiative in 1994.”

     

    Gordon Campbell is the second Premier who is part of our Partnership history and story

    “Gordon Campbell and Mike Harcourt were colleagues in local government and Gordon Campbell succeeded Mike Harcourt as mayor of Vancouver. “

    “In the 2000s, Gordon Campbell had our back. He gave us the opportunity to show how on-the-ground partnerships could inform provincial policy. And we ran with it. The Water Sustainability Action Plan was the proof of the pudding.”

    “The Action Plan was my responsibility to develop and deliver. It was the springboard to Living Water Smart, BC’s Water Plan. The Living Water Smart VISION transcends government and guides the work of the Partnership.”

     

    In 2010, five grass-roots government partnerships morphed into the legal entity that is the Partnership

     

    The fourth partnership was the Water Balance Model Partnership. We built an online tool and this established credibility.

    The fifth partnership was the Waterbucket Website Partnership. This allows us to record our history as we create it.

     

     

    STORY BEHIND THE STORY: When we are part of a network, everyone goes further

    “For those working in the frontline trenches, how to ensure regional and community livability emerged as the #1 theme in our 1-on-1 conversations with invitees leading up to the Forum. The forum then provided a safe space for frontline staff to connect with a wellspring of resources; each other and the alumni,” explained Rémi Dubé.

     

    Forum Overview

    “The Forum seeded three key takeaway messages. First, that local government staff have access to each other and the alumni as key resources,” continued Rémi Dubé.

    “Secondly, we can create a knowledge network by learning from each other’s experiences, successes and failures. We can support each other to make everyone’s work easier. That is the goal.”

    “Thirdly, when you marry visionary leadership with technical skills and you are part of a network, that is when the spotlight is on MISSION POSSIBLE.”

    Coming Next

    “The Partnership will release a legacy video documentary about the Forum in a matter of months.  This will help shape our next steps as a Partnership and who will emerge as leaders.  Our journey continues with a renewed focus to address today’s challenges with a long-term view of sustainability.”

    “Although Partnership alumni are passionate and continue to be involved in the Partnership’s mission, it is the active ambassadors and front line employees in various levels of government that will develop new legislation, guidelines, and incentives to meet water sustainability objectives for the good of society at large,” concluded Rémi Dubé.

     

    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: When we are part of a network, everyone goes further.

     

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2026/02/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Remi-Dube_go-further-in-a-network_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.

    TO LEARN MORE, VISIT: https://waterbucket.ca/about-us/

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/atp/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2025/07/PWSBC_Mid-Year-Report-for-2025_as-posted.pdf