Partnerships and Co-operative Efforts

Compared with use of other tools and management practices, the area of partnerships and co-operative efforts to promote conservation is relatively neglected (see Figure 8).  In terms of current partnerships, the most common are with other water utilities and regional governments at 27% of utilities surveyed.  Partnerships with neighbouring jurisdictions are nearly as common (1 in 5 utilities), as are partnerships with the provincial government. Interestingly, it appears that if utility managers have not already established partnerships, they are unlikely to do so in the future. In terms of planned co-operative efforts, 18% of utilities do intend to pursue partnership with regional governments, while 16% intend to pursue partnerships with neighbouring jurisdictions.