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“When we first conceived of creating a document which would collate all aspects of environmental issues around urban/rural land development, we had no inkling that the document would be recognized world-wide, nor that it would be embraced so thoroughly by so many different disciplines,” reflects Marlene Caskey. “Clearly it was ‘the right information presented in the right place at the right time’! It is great to see it expanded and renewed to better meet the needs of today’s users. Develop with Care 2014 promotes ways to retain and create environmental function and resilience as communities grow.”

“The Partnership for Water Sustainability is facilitating an inter-regional collaboration initiative within the Georgia Basin. This program for local governments connects the cascading objectives for Watershed Health, Resilient Rainwater Management, and Sustainable Service Delivery,” explains Peter Law. “The initiative is designed to help local government champions integrate natural systems thinking and adaptation to a changing climate into asset management. A desired outcome is healthy streams and watersheds. So, implement ‘Design With Nature’ standards of practice for development and infrastructure servicing. Protect and restore stream corridors and fish habitat. Provide community-supporting ecosystem goods and services.”

The world is more complex and fragile than ever before. These trends are bigger than any one organization can solve,” says Todd Latham. “The Energy of Water theme for the 2015 Canadian Water Summit is more than the water/energy nexus conversation – it’s about water professionals celebrating the positives and opportunity that water can bring to Canada. The professionals in attendance will be engaged and inspired by a program that encourages collaboration and seizes advantages of the ‘energy of water’ in Canada and around the world.”

“The Kamloops study generally confirmed findings of other researchers that high branch angles, smooth bark, and substantial woody infrastructure contribute to high stemflow production. However, it also identified exceptions to general patterns as well as factors that have not previously been analyzed – for example, the role of multiple leaders in a canopy vs. a strong single leader,” reported Julie Schooling. “This study builds on precedent-setting research in British Columbia, filling gaps in science-based understanding of tree canopy processes and promoting translation of the science to application through tools such as the Tree Canopy Module of the rebuilt Water Balance Model.”

“Implementing change is primarily a people matter, not a technical one,” states Erik Karlsen. “Bridging the gap between interest and practice involves motivating practitioners to engage in ways that provide sufficient meaning to inspire them and lead to action. The desired outcome is implementation of on-the-ground changes in policies, programs, applied research, practitioner education and standards of practice that lead to full integration of land development and water management. In a fully ‘integrated landscape’, water is the unifying element.”

“In May 2014, Canada, BC and UBCM signed the renewed Gas Tax Agreement for a 10-yr term,” reports Glen Brown. “The Agreement identifies that local governments will be required to meet asset management commitments, as established by the Partnership Committee (the committee that oversees the strategic implementation of the agreement). These asset management commitments are aligned with the newly developed ‘Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery: A BC Framework’; and support local governments moving towards service, asset and financial sustainability.”

“I believe that the key to the success of the Ministry’s relationship with the Partnership and its evolution over the years has been our shared vision for water stewardship. The partnership umbrella provided by the Water Sustainability Action Plan has allowed the Province to leverage partnerships to greatly enhance the profile and resulting impact of Living Water Smart. The Partnership is playing a key delivery role in several theme areas, in particular developing tools for local government and providing training to support an environmentally adaptive approach to community design,” stated Lynn Kriwoken.

The BC Wildlife Federation, an active member of the Wetlands Stewardship Partnership, has brought together a team of well-known experts to share their knowledge and experience. The team will speak on topics that were identified through communications with key municipal and regional staff and lead conservation groups who are working on Vancouver Island. “Wetlands can provide a number of benefits to society, including: flood control, water treatment, and carbon storage,” states Neil Fletcher. “This workshop will explore relevant themes and issues to help build capacity on how we can protect and conserve wetlands and work towards healthier watersheds.

“The lessons learned by Basin communities are relevant to any community trying to reduce peak demand driven by irrigation,” said Neal Klassen. “There is no need to reinvent the wheel.”

Through the Columbia Basin Water Smart initiative, Basin communities are working to raise the bar on water conservation outreach. Moving beyond brochures and newsletters, they are now relying on proven actions that measurably reduce total and peak water demand for local government water utilities.

“Delta is making ‘green infrastructure’ a standard practice in our community. These are no longer just ‘pilot projects’. When we re-build roads in Delta, streetscape enhancement is part of the capital budget. In addition, each year we invest in two or three community rain gardens,” states Hugh Fraser. “Creating a watershed health legacy will ultimately depend on how well we are able to achieve rain water management improvements on both public and private sides of a watershed. There is a huge up-side if the private sector embraces their contribution to shared responsibility.”