Author Archives: Partnership for Water Sustainability

  1. FLASHBACK TO 2004: “The vision for the waterbucket.ca website is to provide a resource rich ‘destination location’ for water sustainability in British Columbia,” stated Mike Tanner, Waterbucket Chair, at the Penticton Drought Forum hosted by the Province of British Columbia (July 2004)

    Comments Off on FLASHBACK TO 2004: “The vision for the waterbucket.ca website is to provide a resource rich ‘destination location’ for water sustainability in British Columbia,” stated Mike Tanner, Waterbucket Chair, at the Penticton Drought Forum hosted by the Province of British Columbia (July 2004)

    Note to Reader:

    In 2003, British Columbia experienced one “teachable moment” after another, highlighted by the Okanagan forest fires that resulted in mass evacuations and widespread destruction in the City of Kelowna and surrounding areas. The impact of this “teachable year” was to set in motion a series of outcomes that have rippled through time. First came the Water Sustainability Action Plan, released in February 2004. Then came release of British Columbia’s Drought Response Plan in June 2004. This was followed by the Provincial Drought Forum held in July 2004 in Penticton. 

    Water Sustainability Action Plan

    In July 2004, the Province hosted a Water Use and Conservation Forum in Penticton. This was quickly branded as the “Penticton Drought Forum”. The program was co-hosted by two provincial Ministries and organized by Land and Water British Columbia Inc (LWBC). To download the Agenda, click here.

    The Forum commenced the rollout of the Water Sustainability Action Plan, released in February 2004. The Action Plan comprises six elements that holistically link water management with land use, development and resource production. The Waterbucket Website is an Action Plan element and is being developed by an inter-agency partnership.

    To Learn More:

    To download a copy of the Water Sustainabiltiy Action Plan for British Columbia: Framework for Building Partnerships, click here.

    Waterbucket Website Partnership

    Mike Tanner, representing BC Hydro Power Smart, spoke on behalf of the Waterbucket Website Partnership when he participated in one of the Forum panel sessions. Mike Tanner is Waterbucket Chair. He presented the website vision. The next panel session provided a platform for Gary Paget, representing the Ministrty of Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services, to announce that his Ministry was giving the Partnership a $25,000 grant towards website development

    Integrated Water Management

    “Integrated water management involves consideration of land, water, air and living organisms – including humans – as well as the interactions among them. Through partnerships, the Water Sustainability Action Plan is promoting the watershed as a fundamental planning unit,” stated Mike Tanner. “The vision for the waterbucket.ca website is to provide a resource rich, highly interactive ‘destination location’ website for information and communication related to water sustainability in the Province of BC.”

    “The waterbucket.ca will connect all six Action Plan Elements to provide the complete story on integrated water management – why, what, where and how – and is the key to the communication strategy for the Action Plan.”

    “The Action Plan recognizes that partnerships hold the key to building broad-based support for improving water management practices, and for integration of water management with land use.”

    To Learn More:

    Download a copy of the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia 

    Read FLASHBACK TO 2005: “Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia provides a partnership umbrella for on-the-ground initiatives,” stated Kim Stephens, lead person responsible for program delivery, a year after Premier Gordon Campbell approved release of the Action Plan

    Universal Access to Information

    “In November 2003, the Province and the Action Plan partners conducted a working session in Kelowna with a ‘provincial focus group’ to identify the information  needs of stakeholders. The focus group determined that there are at least two barriers to providing universal access to information and to furthering sustainable water resource management,” stated Mike Tanner.

    “The first is related to finding, retrieving and/or sharing appropriate resources useful for promoting learning and change. Although resources exist (information, tools, people, funding), they are located on numerous websites and are not linked to one portal.. There are those who are willing or eager to share resources but there are limited effective vehicles to get these resources to people who might benefit from them.”

    “The second and related barrier is concerned with communication and/or integration across initiatives, regions, sectors and disciplines and linking these in order to further collective understanding, collaboration and the development and implementation of best practice.”

    “Implementation of the waterbucket.ca project will help overcome these perceived barriers. The website will be developed primarily for elected officials, government agencies, water utilities, water suppliers and managers, but will be of interest to all water users – domestic, industrial, commercial and agricultural. The site will include elements that are representative of features of a geophysical community,” concluded Mike Tanner.

     

  2. ADAPTING TO THE NEW REALITY OF LONGER, DRIER SUMMERS: Unlike other regions and countries, the water supply challenge in British Columbia’s mountainous environment is that seasonal water storage potential is limited – such that there is little margin for operational error even though our droughts are measured in months rather than years!

    Comments Off on ADAPTING TO THE NEW REALITY OF LONGER, DRIER SUMMERS: Unlike other regions and countries, the water supply challenge in British Columbia’s mountainous environment is that seasonal water storage potential is limited – such that there is little margin for operational error even though our droughts are measured in months rather than years!

    Note to Reader:

    Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who embrace “design with nature” approaches to reconnect people, land, and water in altered landscapes. In this edition, we draw attention to the March 31st 2021 deadline for submitting feedback on the pending enhancement of British Columbia’s Drought Level Scale. This is an important tool to support timely local government actions in adapting to the new reality of longer, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters.

    VISIT THE BRITISH COLUMBIA DROUGHT INFORMATION PORTAL

    EDITOR’S CONTEXT:

    “In British Columbia, we measure our droughts in months – with the range being three to six months. Memories are short, and we are easily lulled into complacency. That is why it is timely that the provincial government reminds us of the importance of a Drought Response Plan, even when people live in a rain forest,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.

    “Consider our recent experience. For five straight years, from 2015 through 2019, British Columbia repeatedly dodged a bullet due to the new reality of longer, drier summers. 2020 was different. It was a wet year. This is why we must not be lulled as we emerge from winter and look ahead to summer.”

    “Once upon a time, a 5-month drought was considered possible but unlikely. And then it happened. A 6-month drought was considered improbable in the rain forest. And then it too happened – in 2015. The impact was so severe that the drought was voted the top news story of 2015.”

    “As surely as day follows night, summer droughts follow winter rains. So why are BC communities consistently water-short when demand is greatest? The answer is a limited capacity to store water. In the big picture of water demand, our water supply lakes and reservoirs are mere puddles.”

    EDITOR’S CONTEXT: Contrast with Australia

    “In 2016, I was invited to Australia to deliver the keynote address at a national conference. The organizers asked me to contrast our BC experience with their Australian experience. Keep in mind that Australia had just survived another of its multi-year droughts,” continued Kim Stephens.

    “Why would an Australian audience take me seriously, I wondered, when I contrasted our worst-case 6-month drought with their 7-year drought. And then I realized that all I need do is state the obvious. During a multi-year drought, their water suppliers have the luxury of time to take stock, react in a measured way, and adapt. In the BC situation, however, every week matters.”

    “When the “Water OUT versus Water IN” safety factor is small – a typical water supply situation in BC – there is no margin for error when making operational decisions. Once storage reservoirs are empty, and incoming streams are dry, there is no more water! In British Columbia, close calls have been recurring since the extreme drought of 1987.”

    If you are curious about what “Water OUT = Water IN” means, visit:
    https://waterbucket.ca/cfa/category/on_the_ground_changes-in-british-columbia/2005_penticton_water_in__water_out_workshop_british_columbia_on_the_ground_changes/

     

    Getting ready – British Columbia’s drought response in 2021

    “Drought severity in B.C. is currently communicated through four “drought levels”. Because these categories are broad, it makes it difficult to communicate moderate levels of drought, worsening drought conditions over time, or when regions are experiencing abnormal water scarcity,” stated Julia Berardinucci, Director, Water Strategies and Conservation, Water Protection and Sustainability Branch

    “Desired outcomes in going to a 6-level system include better understanding of current conditions, advance warning of extreme drought, and better alignment with other jurisdictions in North America. The Province intends to run a trial of the enhanced drought levels over summer 2021.”

    “A new ‘severely dry’ level would signify a severe state of drought, and a new ‘exceptionally dry’ level would be used to identify drought conditions that are at or near historical lows.”

    TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK: Visit the Water Sustainability Act Engagement Blog site (Blog #32). on or before March 31st, 2021. Also, submit questions by email to livingwatersmart@gov.bc.ca.

     

    To learn more about BC’s Drought Level Scale, watch the video

     

    BC’s Proposed Six Drought Levels

     

    How to Adapt to a Changing Climate in British Columbia

    To learn more about the context for adaptation, watch the video:

    About the Partnership for Water Sustainability

    Incorporation of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia as a not-for-profit society on November 19, 2010 was a milestone moment. Incorporation signified a bold leap forward. Two decades earlier, a group of like-minded and passionate individuals, including representatives of three levels of government, came together as a technical committee. Over time, this “water roundtable” evolved into The Partnership.

    The umbrella for Partnership initiatives and programs is the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia. In turn, the Action Plan is nested within Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan. Released in 2008, Living Water Smart was the provincial government’s call to action, and to this day transcends governments.

    The Partnership’s guiding philosophy is to help others be successful. When they are successful, we are successful. The Partnership is led by a team of mission-focused volunteers, elders and collaborators. These individuals bring experience, knowledge and wisdom to the Partnership roundtable. This enhances the effectiveness of the Partnership as “the hub for a convening for action network”. Although many on the Partnership leadership team have retired from their day jobs, the water-centric mission continues.

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

    DOWNLOAD: https://waterbucket.ca/atp/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/11/PWSBC_Story-of-First-Decade_Nov-2020.pdf

     

     

  3. ACHIEVING WATER BALANCE: “If communities are vulnerable on the IN side of the Water Balance equation, then it would make sense to build in resiliency on the OUT side,” stated Kim Stephens when he connected the dots between the 2005 Penticton Workshop and the BC Landscape Water Calculator

    Comments Off on ACHIEVING WATER BALANCE: “If communities are vulnerable on the IN side of the Water Balance equation, then it would make sense to build in resiliency on the OUT side,” stated Kim Stephens when he connected the dots between the 2005 Penticton Workshop and the BC Landscape Water Calculator

    Note to Reader:

    Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who embrace “design with nature” approaches to reconnect people, land, and water in altered landscapes. In this edition, we springboard from the announcement about BC’s Drought Response Plan to tell the story of the Water OUT= Water IN way-of-thinking.

    EDITOR’S CONTEXT:

    “Lately, I have been thinking a lot about three interconnected ideas – the essential need for peer-based learning; what it means to build a culture of land and stream stewardship that is inter-generational; and how local governments would benefit from cultivating continuity of institutional memory,”  stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.

    “We ignore the past and we reinvent the wheel, time and again. Cumulatively building on experience is the exception, rather than the rule. The explanation is that players change, experience is not passed on, and lessons learned are not carried forward. Given this reality, the Partnership fills a vacuum as an “inter-generational memory bank”. At the core of the Partnership’s mission is being a connector – from past to present to future.”

    “The foregoing musings provide the context for a flashback to 2005 for the purposes of connecting past to present – specifically, BC’s Drought Response Plan. The year after release of the Water Sustainability Action Plan, the Province and Partnership co-hosted the launch event for the Convening for Action in British Columbia initiative. The event also allowed the Province to fulfil a commitment flowing from the 2004 Drought Forum.”

    EDITOR’S CONTEXT: Our Climate is Changing

    “Held in Penticton and titled Achieving Water Balance: A Workshop on Dealing with Uncertainty and Managing Risk, the session purpose was to point the way forward to the next paradigm-shift in water supply management. Designed as a technical transfer session, it shone the spotlight on the Water OUT = Water IN way-of-thinking.”

    “Context is everything. In 2005, BC was early in the second decade of water conservation to reduce demand on supply systems. Due to recurring droughts, the emphasis had been on “water use efficiency”. By 2005, however, the impacts and implications of a changing climate were top-of-mind.”

    “The “Penticton Workshop” was the first milestone in a multi-year process to raise awareness among water decision-makers that: Ensuring a safe and adequate water supply depends on understanding the science behind the Water OUT = Water IN equation, as well as what this means at the operational level.”

    DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTY AND MANAGING RISK
    Curious to learn more about the “2005 Penticton Workshop”? 

    https://waterbucket.ca/cfa/category/on_the_ground_changes-in-british-columbia/2005_penticton_water_in__water_out_workshop_british_columbia_on_the_ground_changes/

     

    Climate Change is a Variable

    With the support of Jim Mattison, former Assistant Deputy Minister of Environment, the team of Wenda Mason (Land & Water BC), Robert Hicks (Metro Vancouver) and Kim Stephens (Water Sustainability Action Plan) developed the program and messaging for the 2005 Achieving Water Balance Workshop. Wenda Mason was the first manager of BC’s Provincial Drought Initiative.

    The idea for the deceptively simple Water OUT = Water In equation originated with Robert Hicks. An original thinker, he focussed the team on how we could use the equation as a visual means to explain complexity to a continuum of audiences, ranging from technical to elected. The essence of the OUT = IN messaging from 2005 is distilled as follows.

    Water OUT = Water IN

    “Climate change is not a driver; rather, it is a variable,” Robert Hicks stated at the 2005 workshop. “Furthermore, climate change is only one factor to consider when we talk about sustainable infrastructure and sustainable water supply. The real issues are uncertainty and risk, more specifically how we deal with the first and manage the latter.”

    “A constant challenge for planning is not to prevent past events, but instead is to use past experiences to inform and create flexible strategies for the present and the future. Furthermore, this need for flexibility is not restricted to the immediate scope of the problem at hand; but must also consider the broader juggling of evolving local government priorities and service demands.”

    “This leads to the challenge of assessing problems with sufficient complexity to arrive at flexible and resilient solutions, while at the same time not being overwhelmed and paralyzed by over-analysis.”

    “Given the variability of the factors behind ‘Water OUT = Water IN’, this relationship always will represent a snap-shot in time as its’ inputs shift, evolve and change over time.”

    A Shrinking Safety Factor

    Climate change has aggravated an existing vulnerability in BC. Over time, the safety factor has been shrinking.

    While it rains a lot in BC, we do not have an abundance of supply when demand is greatest. In addition, the mountainous nature of BC’s geography is that BC communities are typically storage-constrained, and what storage they do have is measured in weeks to months.

    When the water resource is large and water demand is small, variability is not that noticeable. But when the demand (Water OUT) is large relative to the available resource, a variation on the supply side (Water IN) magnifies the perception of impact. In many cases, BC communities are operating on narrow margins.

    Variability > Uncertainty > Risk

    How do you solve the OUT = IN equation when both sides are variable? After all, it is mathematically not possible to solve for two or more unknowns when one has a single equation.

    The inherent variability creates uncertainty which in turn creates risk. There is multiple what if combinations and permutations to consider in the OUT = IN equation. Thus, a key message is that the future will always be different than expected.

    Where to Focus Resiliency Efforts

    Because many factors are in play within the OUT = IN equation, an over-arching goal for sustainable water supply management would be to build in resiliency that addresses risk.

    If communities are vulnerable on the IN side of the equation, then it would make sense to build in resiliency on the OUT side. There is no silver bullet. Communities need to do many little things. Over time the cumulative benefits of doing many things do add up. Consider, for example, the role of soil depth in reducing water need and preventing water runoff.

    From Past to Present to Future

    There is a direct line from the “2005 Penticton Workshop” to the recently launched BC Landscape Water Calculator, the newest tool in the Partnership toolbox. As a foundation piece for the next generation of water conservation programs, use of the tool would help local governments build resiliency on the OUT side of the Water Balance equation.

     

    The Partnership for Water Sustainability invites you to test drive the BC Landscape Water Calculator.

    http://bcwatercalculator.ca/landscape/irrigation.

    Click on the image below to access YouTube and view an online demo of the tool by Ted van der Gulik.

    The City of Kelowna was the first local government to operationalize the BC Landscape Water Calculator, as of June 2020. Two other local governments, one in the Fraser Valley and the other on Vancouver Island, will have the calculator up and running by June 2021.

    About the Partnership for Water Sustainability

    Incorporation of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia as a not-for-profit society on November 19, 2010 was a milestone moment. Incorporation signified a bold leap forward. Two decades earlier, a group of like-minded and passionate individuals, including representatives of three levels of government, came together as a technical committee. Over time, this “water roundtable” evolved into The Partnership.

    The umbrella for Partnership initiatives and programs is the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia. In turn, the Action Plan is nested within Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan. Released in 2008, Living Water Smart was the provincial government’s call to action, and to this day transcends governments.

    The Partnership’s guiding philosophy is to help others be successful. When they are successful, we are successful. The Partnership is led by a team of mission-focused volunteers, elders and collaborators. These individuals bring experience, knowledge and wisdom to the Partnership roundtable. This enhances the effectiveness of the Partnership as “the hub for a convening for action network”. Although many on the Partnership leadership team have retired from their day jobs, the water-centric mission continues.

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

    DOWNLOAD: https://waterbucket.ca/atp/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/11/PWSBC_Story-of-First-Decade_Nov-2020.pdf

  4. ADAPTING TO THE NEW REALITY OF LONGER, DRIER SUMMERS: Unlike other regions and countries, the water supply challenge in British Columbia’s mountainous environment is that seasonal water storage potential is limited – such that there is little margin for operational error even though our droughts are measured in months rather than years!

    Comments Off on ADAPTING TO THE NEW REALITY OF LONGER, DRIER SUMMERS: Unlike other regions and countries, the water supply challenge in British Columbia’s mountainous environment is that seasonal water storage potential is limited – such that there is little margin for operational error even though our droughts are measured in months rather than years!

    Note to Reader:

    Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who embrace “design with nature” approaches to reconnect people, land, and water in altered landscapes. In this edition, we draw attention to the March 31st 2021 deadline for submitting feedback on the pending enhancement of British Columbia’s Drought Level Scale. This is an important tool to support timely local government actions in adapting to the new reality of longer, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters.

    VISIT THE BRITISH COLUMBIA DROUGHT INFORMATION PORTAL

    EDITOR’S CONTEXT:

    “In British Columbia, we measure our droughts in months – with the range being three to six months. Memories are short, and we are easily lulled into complacency. That is why it is timely that the provincial government reminds us of the importance of a Drought Response Plan, even when people live in a rain forest,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.

    “Consider our recent experience. For five straight years, from 2015 through 2019, British Columbia repeatedly dodged a bullet due to the new reality of longer, drier summers. 2020 was different. It was a wet year. This is why we must not be lulled as we emerge from winter and look ahead to summer.”

    “Once upon a time, a 5-month drought was considered possible but unlikely. And then it happened. A 6-month drought was considered improbable in the rain forest. And then it too happened – in 2015. The impact was so severe that the drought was voted the top news story of 2015.”

    “As surely as day follows night, summer droughts follow winter rains. So why are BC communities consistently water-short when demand is greatest? The answer is a limited capacity to store water. In the big picture of water demand, our water supply lakes and reservoirs are mere puddles.”

    EDITOR’S CONTEXT: Contrast with Australia

    “In 2016, I was invited to Australia to deliver the keynote address at a national conference. The organizers asked me to contrast our BC experience with their Australian experience. Keep in mind that Australia had just survived another of its multi-year droughts,” continued Kim Stephens.

    “Why would an Australian audience take me seriously, I wondered, when I contrasted our worst-case 6-month drought with their 7-year drought. And then I realized that all I need do is state the obvious. During a multi-year drought, their water suppliers have the luxury of time to take stock, react in a measured way, and adapt. In the BC situation, however, every week matters.”

    “When the “Water OUT versus Water IN” safety factor is small – a typical water supply situation in BC – there is no margin for error when making operational decisions. Once storage reservoirs are empty, and incoming streams are dry, there is no more water! In British Columbia, close calls have been recurring since the extreme drought of 1987.”

    If you are curious about what “Water OUT = Water IN” means, visit:
    https://waterbucket.ca/cfa/category/on_the_ground_changes-in-british-columbia/2005_penticton_water_in__water_out_workshop_british_columbia_on_the_ground_changes/

     

    Getting ready – British Columbia’s drought response in 2021

    WHY THERE IS AN ISSUE: Drought severity in B.C. is currently communicated through four “drought levels”. Because these categories are broad, it makes it difficult to communicate moderate levels of drought, worsening drought conditions over time, or when regions are experiencing abnormal water scarcity.

    WHAT WOULD BE ACHIEVED: Desired outcomes in going to a 6-level system include better understanding of current conditions, advance warning of extreme drought, and better alignment with other jurisdictions in North America. The Province intends to run a trial of the proposed drought levels over summer 2021.

    WHAT IS NEW: A new ‘severely dry’ level would signify a severe state of drought, and a new ‘exceptionally dry’ level would be used to identify drought conditions that are at or near historical lows.

    TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK: Visit the Water Sustainability Act Engagement Blog site (Blog #32). on or before March 31st, 2021. Also, submit questions by email to livingwatersmart@gov.bc.ca.

     

    To learn more about BC’s Drought Level Scale, click below to watch the video

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDluvw1gkoE

     

    BC’s Proposed Six Drought Levels

     

    How to Adapt to a Changing Climate in British Columbia

    To learn more about the context for adaptation, watch the video:

    About the Partnership for Water Sustainability

    Incorporation of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia as a not-for-profit society on November 19, 2010 was a milestone moment. Incorporation signified a bold leap forward. Two decades earlier, a group of like-minded and passionate individuals, including representatives of three levels of government, came together as a technical committee. Over time, this “water roundtable” evolved into The Partnership.

    The umbrella for Partnership initiatives and programs is the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia. In turn, the Action Plan is nested within Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan. Released in 2008, Living Water Smart was the provincial government’s call to action, and to this day transcends governments.

    The Partnership’s guiding philosophy is to help others be successful. When they are successful, we are successful. The Partnership is led by a team of mission-focused volunteers, elders and collaborators. These individuals bring experience, knowledge and wisdom to the Partnership roundtable. This enhances the effectiveness of the Partnership as “the hub for a convening for action network”. Although many on the Partnership leadership team have retired from their day jobs, the water-centric mission continues.

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

    DOWNLOAD: https://waterbucket.ca/atp/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/11/PWSBC_Story-of-First-Decade_Nov-2020.pdf

     

     

  5. FLASHBACK T0 2005: “People have no difficulty reconciling personal long-term and short-term decisions, yet are challenged when it comes to reconciling short-term political versus long-term community planning decisions,” stated Robert Hicks, Metro Vancouver Senior Engineer, at the Penticton Workshop that launched the Convening for Action in British Columbia initiative

    Comments Off on FLASHBACK T0 2005: “People have no difficulty reconciling personal long-term and short-term decisions, yet are challenged when it comes to reconciling short-term political versus long-term community planning decisions,” stated Robert Hicks, Metro Vancouver Senior Engineer, at the Penticton Workshop that launched the Convening for Action in British Columbia initiative

    Note to Reader:

    The “Penticton Workshop” held as an adjunct to the BCWWA Annual Conference in April 2005 was the first regional event organized under the Convening for Action in British Columbia (CFA) umbrella, an element of the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia, released a year earlier in February 2004.

    The workshop was titled “Demand Management Strategies – Achieving Water Balance” – A Workshop on Dealing with Uncertainty and Managing Risk.

    This full-day technical transfer session connected the dots between water resource planning, climate variability and risk management; explored the tools and techniques available through demand-side management; and gave participants ‘hands-on’ planning practice to demonstrate how to achieve a water balance without relying on new sources and infrastructure. Below we feature the presentation by Robert Hicks, a workshop co-organizer.

    Achieving a Water Balance

    The workshop was a collaboration of the BCWWA Water Sustainability Committee (forerunner of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC), the former Land & Water British Columbia (LWBC) and the former Ministry of Water, Land & Air Protection.  Wenda Mason of LWBC and Kim Stephens co-moderated the full-day event. Together with Robert Hicks, a Senior Engineer with the Greater Vancouver Regional District, this trio co-developed the program content over a period of many months.

    To Learn More:

    To download a copy of the comprehensive workshop program, click on “Demand Management Strategies – Achieving Water Balance” – A Workshop on Dealing with Uncertainty and Managing Risk.

    To provide a record of the event for posterity, the Water Sustainability Action Plan steering committee published the Report on Water OUT = Water IN Workshop in mid-2005.

    Know the Lingo!

    “Conventional water supply planning is typically based on a narrow understanding of engineering statistics without really understanding the role that climate variability plays. A core message is that the OUT = IN equation is variable on both sides. Something to think about is that in mathematics one cannot solve for two variables with a single equation. In other words, it is time for practitioners to go back to the basics and re-think how we approach water supply analysis and planning,” noted Robert Hicks in his workshop presentation.

    “A key message in my presentation revolved around the importance of lingo in communicating with decision-makers, and how messages can easily be lost in translation when language is not used effectively. A second key message related to a retirement planning way-of-thinking and the conundrum whereby people have no difficulty reconciling personal long-term and short-term decisions, yet are challenged when it comes to reconciling short-term political versus long-term community planning decisions.”

    To Learn More:

    To download the presentation by Robert Hicks, click on Reconciliation of Long-Term Visions with Short-Term Realities: Planning to Live Within Limits

    Breakout group led by Robert Hicks

    Building an Informed Community of Practice

    “In British Columbia, school children learn about the water cycle in Grade Five. By high school they have forgotten about it. There is a parallel pattern in engineering education. The concept is re-taught in first year hydrology and then forgotten after graduation. These observations have provided an impetus for the Convening for Action in BC initiative to champion OUT = IN as the way to re-focus water supply planners,” stated Kim Stephens, Program Coordinator, Water Sustainability Action Plan for BC.

    “The workshop was an important first step in changing the way practitioners approach water supply planning. We introduced a number of key concepts that we intend to build upon:

    • the water balance equation: Water OUT = Water IN
    • reconciliation of long-term vision and short-term reality
    • choice of language (“lingo”)
    • retirement planning analogy
    • water/energy nexus”

    “Through the Convening for Action in British Columbia initiative, we are building a language and getting people involved. We are developing ideas and educating people. The bottom-line is that we are building an informed community of practice. Looking to the future, we envision that the workshop program will be the template for a training course and ultimately a guidebook.”

  6. PLANNING FOR WATER RESILIENCY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “A Water Conservation Plan is a mandatory document in order to apply for an infrastructure grant. The Ministry requires that local governments include both an assessment of what their successes have been, and a look ahead as to where their plans are going next,” states Brian Bedford, A/Executive Director, Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing

    Comments Off on PLANNING FOR WATER RESILIENCY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “A Water Conservation Plan is a mandatory document in order to apply for an infrastructure grant. The Ministry requires that local governments include both an assessment of what their successes have been, and a look ahead as to where their plans are going next,” states Brian Bedford, A/Executive Director, Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing

    Note to Reader:

    In the Partnership for Water Sustainability’s weekly newsletters, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the commitment, hard work and perseverance of individuals and organizations whose efforts make a difference for the common good vis-à-vis land and water management in the local government setting.

    In this edition we feature the BC Landscape Water Calculator, the newest tool in the Partnership toolbox. Targeting seasonal outdoor water use represents the best opportunity to achieve “water use in balance with a changing water cycle”. We connect the dots to the provincial government’s Water Conservation Condition which local governments must satisfy if they wish to obtain infrastructure grants. 

    Editor’s Context:

    “The Water Conservation Condition is the contractual requirement that any grant application for a water, wastewater or stormwater project in British Columbia must be supported by a current Council or Board endorsed Water Conservation Plan. To meet the requirement, the plan must have have been updated within the last five years. The cycle is such that many plans will soon require updating. This creates opportunities,” states Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.

    “The 45 actions and targets in Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan establish expectations vis-à-vis how land will be developed and how water will be used in a changing climate. The Water Conservation Condition directly supports these two targets which specifically address water use:

    • Water use in BC will be 33 percent more efficient by 2020 (Doing Business Differently); and
    • 50 percent of new municipal water needs will be acquired through conservation by 2020 (Preparing Communities for Change). 

    “The BC Landscape Water Calculator is an outcome of a multi-year investment by the provincial government and other partners to develop science-based tools. It is the latest spin-off tool from the BC Agriculture Water Demand Model. Another spin-off tool is the BC Agriculture Water Calculator which supports the provincial government’s application process for all new water licences.

    “Now live at http://bcwatercalculator.ca/landscape/irrigation, the calculator is in the public domain. This means it can be accessed and used by all BC local governments for water resiliency planning and management of outdoor water use.

    “Integration of the BC Landscape Water Calculator, as a foundation piece for the next generation of water conservation programs, would help communities bring to fruition the vision for water sustainability. Use of the tool would help local governments achieve their water budgets and  associated demand reduction targets.”

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2017/11/livingwatersmart_book.pdf

     

    BC Landscape Water Calculator – foundation piece for next generation of water conservation programs in British Columbia

    In British Columbia, local government grant applicants must provide an up-to-date, succinct, effective, council or board endorsed Water Conservation Plan, which covers the entire water system, to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Or, in the situation that a Water Conservation Plan has been previously submitted to the Province and/or is more than 5 years old, the local government applicant is required to submit an updated outline of that plan that identifies actions that are complete, in process and any new actions planned.

    “Water Conservation Condition” for Infrastructure Grants

    “A longstanding goal of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is to find a balance between supporting those local governments who are leaders, while over time raising the bar to encourage the rest,” reports Brian Bedford, A/Executive Director, Local Government Infrastructure & Finance, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

    “The Ministry’s application of the Water Conservation Condition as a contract requirement for infrastructure grants exemplifies our pragmatic, multi-year approach to incentivize changes in practice. This contract requirement points to the web-based  Water Conservation Calculator.

    “A decade ago, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the Partnership for Water Sustainability collaborated to implement the Water Conservation Calculator. This front-end tool helped to leverage development of Water Conservation Plans province-wide. The majority of local governments now have such plans. That represents cumulative progress over time.

    “With many Water Conservation Plans being more than 5 years old, it is time for a refresh. And this is where we believe the new BC Landscape Water Calculator has a timely fit. The tool is an exciting new evolution. It would allow local governments to further support their Water Conservation Plans with the next piece of education for those who are actually turning on the taps at their homes.”

    Expectations evolve into Requirements

    “The bar has been raised and no longer can a local government simply state in an application that they have a Water Conservation Plan endorsed by Council or Board resolution. Now, when a grant application is submitted, the Ministry asks for confirmation that an up-to-date plan has been approved by Council or Board resolution within the last 5 years.

    “In addition, applicants must provide an update on their water conservation work and the goals that have been accomplished by the existing plan during the period following Council or Board approval. The Ministry requires that local governments include both an assessment of what their successes have been, and a look ahead as to where their Water Conservation Plans are going next.

    “It is in the look ahead that one can foresee the opportunity for a local government to identify what role the BC Landscape Water Calculator could play in achieving water conservation targets and further reducing water use in the community.”

    Incrementally Raising the Bar in BC

    “Going back 15 years to the mid-2000s, the Province recognized the need to encourage better water conservation by water users and water purveyors in BC. The question was – what policy levers were available to help make that change, and what would incentivize it? And so, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs found an opportunity to align provincial grant programs with water conservation targets.

    “Over time, the process has been one of incrementally raising the bar in defined steps – awareness first, then education, and finally, full implementation. In the case of Water Conservation Plans, it went from just being questions to becoming an optional document, to being a conditional requirement on approved contracts.

    “Now that we have fairly good saturation province-wide, a Water Conservation Plan is a mandatory document in order to apply for an infrastructure grant.

    “Moving forward, updating of the Water Conservation Condition for the next iteration of the grants program would create the opportunity to integrate the BC Landscape Water Calculator and start nudging local governments to be aware of the tool. Initially, we would flag it as an available tool that local governments can explore and work with,” concludes Brian Bedford.

    BC Landscape Water Calculator is Science-Based

    The BC Landscape Water Calculator educates users because they are able to compare water use for separate landscape profiles,” states Ted van der Gulik. Prior to retirement from government, he was the Senior Engineer in the Ministry of Agriculture. He is the current President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability.

    “By following the Users Guide, and through experimentation with the dropdowns, they learn that ‘water need’ varies depending on plant type, irrigation system, local climate and soil type.”

    Linked to Provincial Database

    “Most importantly, the tool allows the users to divide their properties into ‘hydrozones’, otherwise known as planting areas. Then they can test various combinations of plant types and irrigation systems. The objective is to be at or below the allowable water budget, which can be set by each local government partner.

    “The power of the tool is that it is linked to a provincial 500 metre gridded climate dataset that was built for the Agricultural Water Demand Model.This is what establishes the allowable water budget. It is a real number based on average climate data for the period 2000 through 2010 for the active growing season.”

    Kelowna is the 1st Application

    “Customizing of the tool for use within Kelowna included plant selection dropdowns developed with assistance from the Okanagan Xeriscape Association.

    “The database also provides the user with guidance as to whether plant selections are suitable for sun exposure or shade. Think about why that is important. Water efficient plants can be customized for each region or local government.”

    Enhanced Resiliency

    “In summary, a key takeaway message is that the BC Landscape Water Calculator has benefited from a major provincial investment in a science-based approach to quantifying how much water is needed for irrigation.

    “Now any property owner in BC can zoom in to their property and quantify their outdoor water need based on climate, soil, plant type and irrigation system. Over time, province-wide use of the tool would result in enhanced resiliency of community water supplies, by developing landscapes that are water efficient,” concludes Ted van der Gulik.

    Partnership Vision for Mainstreaming Province-Wide

    “Our vision is that province-wide mainstreaming would begin in 2021. In the meantime, we invite expressions of interest from local governments wishing to be part of the program. All you need do is email us at partnership@watersustainabilitybc.ca and write a note that you are interested and wish to learn more about getting involved,” states Ted van der Gulik.

    “While anyone in British Columbia can now use the calculator, there are benefits to a local government in becoming a partner in the program. As the City of Kelowna experience foreshadows, incorporating local knowledge and requirements would stimulate local uptake of the tool.”

    TO LEARN MORE:

    The Partnership for Water Sustainability invites you to test drive the BC Landscape Water Calculator at http://bcwatercalculator.ca/landscape/irrigation. Click on the image to watch an online demo of the tool.

     

     

     

  7. LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: Unveiled in 2009, BC’s online Water Conservation Calculator decision support tool is a foundation piece for a long-term provincial strategy that aligned eligibility for infrastructure grant programs with Living Water Smart targets for improving water use efficiency and achieving water supply resiliency province-wide through Council or Board endorsed Water Conservation Plans

    Comments Off on LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: Unveiled in 2009, BC’s online Water Conservation Calculator decision support tool is a foundation piece for a long-term provincial strategy that aligned eligibility for infrastructure grant programs with Living Water Smart targets for improving water use efficiency and achieving water supply resiliency province-wide through Council or Board endorsed Water Conservation Plans

    Note to Reader:

    Developed by the Province of British Columbia in collaboration with the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, the Water Conservation Calculator (WCC) is a free, web-based decision-support tool used to illustrate how specific water conservation measures can yield both fiscal and physical water savings for communities.

    Held in Victoria, British Columbia in October 2009, the 3rd Canadian National Conference & Policy Forum on Water Efficiency and Conservation was the venue for unveiling of the Beta version of the Water Conservation Calculator.

    According to Glen Pleasance, Technical Program Chair, “The Conference provided a unique national perspective on water efficiency and conservation programs, issues and initiatives – focussing on all aspects of municipal efficiency programs from technology, to best management practices, to policy and education programs. Normally these issues are addressed piecemeal, or on a regional basis – this event provided a national Canadian perspective.”

    Complementary to the CWWA National Conference, and to support the Ministry, the University of Victoria’s POLIS Project on Ecological Governance hosted a Water Conservation Planning Workshop. Led by Oliver Brandes, it was targeted at municipal staff directly involved in the development of water plans, such as water managers and staff, sustainability coordinators, engineers, ecologists, consultants, watershed advisors and citizen representatives. 

    The conference presentation and Water Conservation Calculator demonstration was made by Lisa Wright, an Infrastructure Resource Officer with the BC Ministry of Community & Rural Development. A preliminary version of the Water Conservation Calculator was showcased earlier in 2009 at the Penticton Forum.

    Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan

    In June 2008, the Province released Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan. The 45 targets and actions established expectations vis-à-vis how land would be developed and how water would be used in a changing climate. Performance targets included these ones for reducing water use.:

    • Water use in BC will be 33 percent more efficient by 2020 (Doing Business Differently); and
    • 50 percent of new municipal water needs will be acquired through conservation by 2020 (Preparing Communities for Change). 

    These targets provided the backdrop for development of Water Conservation Plans.

    Vision for Water Conservation Calculator
    as a Tool for Use by Small Communities

    “The web-based Water Conservation Calculator has now been launched in its first BETA testing live release. The tool will continue to be under validation testing until its final live release,” stated Lisa Wright in October 2009.

    “The freeware Water Conservation Calculator is an on-line user-friendly tool geared for water purveyors of smaller communities. Smaller communities often cannot allocate resources to traditional infrastructure projects or cannot budget for the development of water conservation and efficiency plans by service providers.”

    “Its purpose is to illustrate how specific conservation measures yield both fiscal and physical water consumption savings. Water purveyors can use the tool to assist in presenting their conservation case to council and other decision makers.”

    Foreshadowing of ‘Water Conservation Condition’ for
    Infrastructure Grant Applications

    “A properly designed conservation program has the ability to extend the life of infrastructure, reduce repair, treatment and power costs, reduce power expenses, and defer or eliminate the need for major capital costs. Use of the Water Conservation Calculator may become a Ministry requirement as part of the infrastructure grant application process,” foreshadowed Liam Edwards in October 2009. At the time, he was A/Director, Infrastructure and Engineering.

    Earlier in his career with the Ministry, when he was an Infrastructure Resource Officer, Liam Edwards developed the original spreadsheet tool that was the genesis for the online calculator tool.

    Fast Forward to 2020 and Current Practice

    The Water Conservation Condition is the contractual requirement that any grant application for a water, wastewater or stormwater project in British Columbia must be supported by a current Council or Board endorsed Water Conservation Plan. To meet the requirement, the plan must have have been updated within the last five years.

    In 2020, Brian Bedford provided this perspective, “Over time, the process has been one of incrementally raising the bar in defined steps – awareness first, then education, and finally, full implementation. In the case of Water Conservation Plans, it went from being questions to becoming an optional document, to being a conditional requirement on approved contracts.” Brian Bedford is currently the A/Executive Director, Local Government Infrastructure & Finance, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

    “The Water Conservation Calculator helped to leverage development of Water Conservation Plans province-wide. The majority of local governments now have such plans. That represents cumulative progress over time.”

    About the Water Conservation Calculator and the Need it Serves

    The WCC is easy to navigate, with instructional text to help guide the user through each of the five modules. Technical support is also available through the ‘help’ function. A basic understanding of the community water system is necessary to use the WCC. Before beginning, community and water system data need to be collected. Data requirements have been categorized as mandatory and optional. The key pieces of functionality that it provides are:

    • collecting and recording community water system data;
    • preparing useful information about the current state of the water system and future demands;
    • comparison of conservation demand management and supply-side upgrade options;
    • assistance in more accurately targeting conservation efforts, thereby increasing the cost effectiveness of conservation campaigns;
    • offering finance planning for conservation demand management and supply-side upgrades;
    • assistance in decision making around new infrastructure (can illustrate the possibility of capital deferment); and
    • presenting charting and a printable PDF report based on data inputs, outputs, and benchmark values.

    “Water conservation should be seen as alternative or supplemental to planned infrastructure projects. In essence, conservation is a resource in its own right. It provides safe, clean, water sooner, that is less costly, and less impactful on the environment than traditional source development or upgrade projects,” concluded Lisa Wright in her 2009 presentation.

  8. ANNOUNCEMENT: BC Landscape Water Calculator is available to all residents of British Columbia

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    Editor’s Context:

    “The rhythms of water are in flux – winters are warmer and wetter; summers are longer and drier. This is British Columbia’s new reality. Adapting means that we must view water differently. Adapting requires that our use of water be in balance with a changing water cycle.  A core concept for an adaption strategy is this: Water sustainability in the built environment would be achieved through implementation of green infrastructure policies and practices.” states Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.

    “The Partnership for Water Sustainability develops tools and resources for use by communities to facilitate a ‘design with nature’ approach to water-centric planning in British Columbia. The newest tool in the Partnership toolbox is the BC Landscape Water Calculator. Simply put, it is both a decision support and educational tool for local government water conservation programs.

    “Now live at http://bcwatercalculator.ca/landscape/irrigation, the calculator is in the public domain. This means it can be accessed and used by all BC local governments for water resiliency planning and management of outdoor water use. Integration of the BC Landscape Water Calculator, as a foundation piece for water conservation programs, would help communities bring to fruition the vision for water sustainability.”

    USING SCIENCE TO ESTABLISH A LANDSCAPE WATER BUDGET

    “The BC Landscape Water Calculator is linked to a 500 metre gridded climate data set covering the entire province. The tool allows any property owner in BC to zoom in to their property and quantify their landscape water needs based on climate, soil, plant type and irrigation system,” states Ted van der Gulik, Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia

    City of Kelowna is a Project Partner

    In the article below, Ted van der Gulik shares the ‘story behind the story’ of the BC Landscape Water Calculator. His storyline is structured in three parts: partnerships and collaboration benefit everyone; the calculator is science-based; vision for mainstreaming province-wide. The City of Kelowna is featured because it is the first local government to become a project partner.

    “The City’s participation as a project partner is key because the BC Landscape Water Calculator supports Kelowna’s water regulation bylaw and Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper program (QWEL). In addition, the City facilitated a grant from the RBC Blue Water Project to jointly fund tool development,” reports Ted van der Gulik.

    The BC Landscape Water Calculator is an outcome of a multi-year investment by the provincial government and other partners to develop science-based tools. It is the latest spin-off tool from the BC Agriculture Water Demand Model. Another spin-off tool is the BC Agriculture Water Calculator which supports the provincial government’s application process for all new water licences. The catalyst for developing these tools is Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan.

    Quotable Quote:

    “The City Utility is excited to promote this online water tool to our residents. It makes the process of understanding, calculating, and submitting water use reports to the City so much easier and user-friendly,” stated Ed Hoppe, Water Quality and Customer Care Supervisor, City of Kelowna. “It also highlights the importance of making conscious water decisions while still making your landscape look fantastic. Win-win for everyone!

    “The Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper (QWEL) certification program is a great way for homeowners to ensure that landscape and irrigation contractors have water conservation in mind, consider native landscape material, and provide top notch workmanship in their services.

    “The QWEL training program provides graduates with knowledge in water efficient and sustainable landscapes and asks that they uphold the standards presented during the training.  QWEL certified contractors, designers and other successful participants agree to adhere to the requirements of the Landscape Water Conservation Report per Bylaw 10480, and to follow residential irrigation standards, in order to remain on the Kelowna QWEL Contractor list.”

    Ray Warren – Vice President, RBC Commercial Financial Services. Ed Hoppe – City of Kelowna Water Quality and Customer Care Supervisor. Courtney Hesse – RBC Regional Vice President

    Partnerships and Collaboration Benefit Everyone

    “Over the past decade, the City of Kelowna has implemented innovative approaches to management of water use and landscape irrigation, such as the QWEL program. Therefore, it was a natural fit for the Partnership and City to collaborate in the development of the BC Landscape Water Calculator,” states Ted van der Gulik, President, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC.

    “A platform re-build for the BC Agriculture Water Calculator was the opportunity to spin-off the BC Landscape Water Calculator as a stand-alone tool for use by local governments and their residents. At the same time, the City of Kelowna was implementing a landscape bylaw that established an allowable water budget at the individual property scale.”

    About Ted van der Gulik:

    When he retired from government in 2014, Ted van der Gulik was the Senior Engineer in the BC Ministry of Agriculture. He had a leadership role in provincial initiatives related to water use and management.

    Three decades ago he had a vision for a science-based approach to management of water demand in British Columbia. In June 2008, the stars aligned when the provincial government released Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan. This was a defining moment in BC’s water history.

    Living Water Smart provided the policy framework for a new era of water management in BC. Living Water Smart was a catalyst for action because it established 45 actions and targets for doing business differently, preparing communities for change, and choosing to be water smart.

    Ted van der Gulik had a mandate  that allowed him to put his ideas into practice through province-wide implementation of the Agriculture Water Demand Model program. Through a partnership agreement between the Province and the Partnership for Water Sustainability, he has a continuing management responsibility for ongoing program delivery.

    Currently, he is responsible for overseeing delivery of  the spin-off suite of online calculators.

    DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2017/11/livingwatersmart_book.pdf

    How Outdoor Water Use is Managed

    “The City of Kelowna has an oversight system in place to ensure that landscape design and irrigation design work together to achieve water efficiency. The City’s approval process is keyed to three requirements:
    • Limit use of turf-grass to a maximum of 60% of the site.
    • Design the system so that water use would not exceed the allowable annual water budget.
    • Submit a Landscape Water Conservation Report for the City’s approval.

    “The Irrigation Industry Association of BC also became a project partner. The significance of IIABC involvement is that IIABC provides training for landscape irrigation designers and contractors. These trained individuals help support implementation of the City’s QWEL program.

    “We also involved the Okanagan Xeriscape Association as a technical resource. OXA assisted with development of a database of nursery plants that are water efficient, drought resistant, and suitable for Okanagan conditions. Currently, this database is only connected to the landscape calculator for use in Kelowna. Basic plant information is used for the rest of the province.”

    BC Landscape Water Calculator is Science-Based

    “The tool educates users because they are able to compare water use for separate landscape profiles. By following the Users Guide, and through experimentation with the dropdowns, they learn that ‘water need’ varies depending on plant type, irrigation system, local climate and soil type.”

    Linked to Provincial Database

    “Most importantly, the tool allows the users to divide their properties into ‘hydrozones’, otherwise known as planting areas. Then they can test various combinations of plant types and irrigation systems. The objective is to be at or below the allowable water budget.

    “The power of the tool is that it is linked to the provincial database for the Agricultural Water Demand Model, in particular the 500 metre gridded climate cells. This is what establishes the allowable water budget. It is a real number based on climate data averaged from 2000 through 2010.

    “Customizing of the tool for use within Kelowna included plant selection dropdowns developed with assistance from the Okanagan Xeriscape Association. This led us to go the next step and take into account whether there is sun exposure or shade. The database also provides the user with guidance as to whether plant selections are suitable for sun exposure or shade. Think about why that is important.”

    Enhanced Resiliency

    “In summary, a key takeaway message is that the BC Landscape Water Calculator has benefited from a major provincial investment in a science-based approach to quantifying how much water is needed for irrigation.

    “Now any property owner in BC can zoom in to their property and quantify their outdoor water need based on climate, soil, plant type and irrigation system. We believe this is quite likely the first application of this kind in the world. Over time, province-wide use of the tool would result in enhanced resiliency of community water supplies.”

    To Learn More:

    The Partnership for Water Sustainability invites you to test drive the BC Landscape Water Calculator at http://bcwatercalculator.ca/landscape/irrigation. Click on the image to watch an online demo of the tool.

    Partnership Vision for Mainstreaming Province-Wide

    “In the coming months, the Partnership for Water Sustainability will proceed with an outreach program. An early priority is to raise awareness of the BC Landscape Water Calculator as a ‘made in BC’ tool for water resiliency planning and regulation of outdoor water use. This announcement is a first step.

    “Our vision is that province-wide mainstreaming would begin in 2021. In the meantime, we invite expressions of interest from local governments wishing to be part of the program. Contact us at partnership@watersustainabilitybc.ca.

    “While anyone in British Columbia can now use the calculator, there are benefits to a local government in becoming a partner in the program. As the City of Kelowna experience foreshadows, incorporating local knowledge and requirements would stimulate local uptake of the tool.”

    Whole-System, Water Balance Management: 

    “At some point in the foreseeable future, the Partnership envisions there will be an opportunity to interlink the BC Landscape Water Calculator and the Water Balance Model Express for Homeowners.

    “The latter is a wet-weather tool for rainwater capture and protection of stream health. Like Lego, homeowners can add building blocks to test how to infiltrate rainwater runoff on their property, and thus reduce discharge to municipal drainage systems.

    “The commonality is soil and how soil functions as an absorbent sponge to hold and slowly release water, thereby maintaining the water balance during wet and dry cycles. Once the tools are interlinked, it would be within our grasp to achieve whole-system, water balance management at the property scale.”

    Click on the image below to test drive the BC Landscape Water Calculator:

     

     

  9. THE POTENTIAL FOR RAINWATER HARVESTING: “Every small effort by Canadians in reusing rainwater at home can help the community at large fight against climate change,” stated Donald Kim in a guest article for Waterbucket News

    Comments Off on THE POTENTIAL FOR RAINWATER HARVESTING: “Every small effort by Canadians in reusing rainwater at home can help the community at large fight against climate change,” stated Donald Kim in a guest article for Waterbucket News

    Note to Reader:

    The following article on rainwater harvesting was contributed by Donald Kim, content specialist of BARR Plastics in Abbotsford, British Columbia. In the article, Donald Kim leads the reader through the steps in the rainwater harvesting process and how reusing rainwater can benefit us and the environment. Donald is a Digital Marketing Specialist with an MBA from Simon Fraser University. For almost half a century, Barr Plastics has been providing environment-enhancing solutions for a range of water management applications, including rainwater harvesting and potable water storage. 

    How Can You Reuse Rainwater?

    “Rainwater harvesting has become a rapidly trending topic in the global discourse of climate change in 2019. How can we implement a rainwater harvesting system at home in contemporary Canadian society? Let’s take a look at what rainwater harvesting is and how we can implement strategies within the community to help make a difference in response to climate change today,” wrote Donald Kim.

    What is ‘Rainwater Harvesting’?

    “Rainwater harvesting refers to the process of collecting, storing and repurposing of natural rainwater for future use. Ancient practice of harvesting rainwater in fact goes back thousands of years where Indigenous cultures have been reusing rainwater as a means of domestic and agricultural use.

    “In Canada, the rules and regulations of rainwater harvesting is governed by provincial and municipal legislation. More specifically, rainwater is considered common property in British Columbia, and is subject to the Rule of Capture. This means that rainwater is a common property, open for entitlement until it is first captured by landowners who choose to claim it.”

    The Rainwater Harvesting Process

    “Since the early 2000s, Canadian individuals and municipal governments have been taking action towards an eco-friendly community. They have also been implementing more methods of rainwater harvesting as a generalized green practice. The general process of rainwater harvesting includes catchment, conveyance, filtration and storage.

    “The most popularly used systems of rainwater harvesting are rooftop and runoff rainwater systems. Rooftop rainwater systems are generally collected in a storage container underground by landowners, whereas runoff rainwater systems collect the water from a mountain or hillside, so it’s mostly used for large volume populations.”

    Catchment & Conveyance of Rainwater Harvesting

    “Some of the ways that naturally harvested rainwater can be reused, include:

    • Stormwater reduction
    • Landscape irrigation
    • Laundry
    • Portable toilets/toilet flushing
    • Evaporative coolers
    • Indoor and outdoor plant watering
    • Lawn care

    “Some of the major benefits of harvesting rainwater include:

    • Contribution to the demand of municipal water
    • Reduction in the volume of water entering the stormwater system
    • Recharge of ground water

    “Consequently, your small actions taken at home by reusing rainwater can help the community at large,” emphasizes Donald Kim.

    Rainwater Filtration Strategies & Storage Management

    “Rainwater from the sky may have pollutants and other impurities, such as arsenic and mercury, that must be filtered out. Urban Waters discusses this in greater detail:

    “At the filtration stage, only the physical impurities in the rainwater are removed. Remember, chemical or dissolved contaminants will still remain in the water.”

    “Be sure to take careful precautions by researching the necessary procedures to reusing rainwater for consumption. You can start with your own yard if you’d like to learn more about how you can implement a rainwater harvesting system at home.

    “There are variety of ways and process on how to collect and re-purpose rainwater that will help minimize the issue on water supply in the future.”

    Make a Difference by Reusing Rainwater Today

    “Evidently, rainwater harvesting can create a huge impact towards an eco-friendly community. Every small effort by Canadians in reusing rainwater at home can help the community at large fight against climate change,” concludes Donald Kim.

    To Learn More:

    Read Changes to BC Plumbing Code Enable Rainwater Harvesting, a story about the 2013 presentation by Zachary May, a Codes Administrator with the Building and Safety Standards Branch.

    “The BC Building Code enables innovation. Designers can propose Alternative Solutions to the Building Code. Coupled with this enabling opportunity, however, is a duty for designers to demonstrate how they are being responsible in applying an understanding of Building Science,” explained Zachary May at Get Your Mind Into the Gutter: A Workshop on Rainwater Harvesting in British Columbia, organized by the Partnership for Water Sustainability. In effect, he added, the Building Code has a backdoor for those who want to innovate outside of traditional approaches.

    To download a set of three ‘big picture’ presentations that set the context for Get Your Mind Into the Gutter, click on Living Water Smart: Doing Business Differently in British Columbia to Achieve Provincial Goals and Targets.

     

     

  10. ALBERTA & SASKATCHEWAN CITIES TEND TO HAVE THE MOST EXPENSIVE WATER IN CANADA: “Somewhat lost in the water-pricing discussion are the challenges that higher water rates present for low-income households,” wrote Professor Jim Warren, University of Regina

    Comments Off on ALBERTA & SASKATCHEWAN CITIES TEND TO HAVE THE MOST EXPENSIVE WATER IN CANADA: “Somewhat lost in the water-pricing discussion are the challenges that higher water rates present for low-income households,” wrote Professor Jim Warren, University of Regina

    Note to Reader:

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Jim Warren, Assistant Professor Sociology and Social Studies, University of Regina. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Studies at the University of Regina. His principal areas of research interest are climate change adaptation and water governance and management. Recent research efforts have included studies on adaptation to drought on the Canadian Prairies and the economic impacts of flooding in the Quill Lakes region of Saskatchewan.

    As utilities upgrade their systems, some households are facing steep rate hikes for the cost of water. (Shutterstock)

    Water prices increasingly unaffordable for low-income households

    Environmentalists and water economists have long argued that Canadian households have not conserved water in part because it is priced at excessively low levels.

    Somewhat lost in the water-pricing discussion are the challenges that higher water rates present for low-income households. Over the past few decades, the prices charged by municipalities for residential water and wastewater services in many Canadian cities have increased much faster than increases in the rate of inflation.

    The cost of municipal water and wastewater services in 93 Canadian cities shows that residential water and wastewater utility charges in 22 of those cities are exceeding international affordability benchmarks for low-income households. More than 130,000 low-income households in these 22 cities are already paying more for water than they can afford.

    Over the next decade, water is likely to become increasingly unaffordable for low-income households.

    Varied pricing

    The study shows that cities in Alberta and Saskatchewan tend to have the most expensive water in the country. Calgary and Regina, for example, have the second- and third-highest prices among the 93 cities surveyed.

    A two-person household using 12.2 cubic metres (12,200 litres) of water per month (a conservative indoor-only volume) would pay $1,265 in Calgary or $1,229 in Regina per year. The community with the highest charges was Saint John, N.B., at $1,368 per year. At the other end of the continuum, water charges in Torbay, N.L. are $300 per year regardless of how much water a household consumes.

    The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) affordability benchmark that recommends that water and wastewater services for low-income households should not exceed five per cent of their after tax income. Seven of the 22 cities where rates exceed the OECD affordability benchmark are in Alberta and five are in Saskatchewan.

    A sign warns people to avoid contact with the St. Lawrence River in November 2015 when Montréal dumped eight billion litres of untreated wastewater into the river as it repaired parts of its sewage system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

    Wastewater upgrades

    One of the principal drivers of high rates in Alberta and Saskatchewan compared to the other provinces is the quality of the available source water. In the drier parts of the Prairies, for example, the distance from the source to the municipality may be longer than for other water-rich regions.

    Wastewater treatment may also cost more as a number of cities in the Prairies discharge their sewage into streams that other communities then use as source water. Regina, for example, is required by the Government of Saskatchewan to take greater care about the quality of wastewater discharge it produces than is the case for some cities in other provinces.

    Similarly, the high water utility charges in Saint John, N.B., reflect the significant wastewater infrastructure investments undertaken to protect the waters of the Bay of Fundy. A city like Victoria, B.C., on the other hand, has lower costs because it is allowed to simply discharge untreated wastewater directly into the ocean.

    Federal regulations made under the Fisheries Act in 2014 require that cities cease releasing untreated or inadequately treated effluent into natural water bodies by 2020. This means a number of cities such as Victoria and Montréal will be required to make significant wastewater infrastructure investments that could have an effect on their water rates. A new plant being built for Victoria is scheduled to be completed this year.

    Protect the source

    Some municipalities are taking measures to reduce the impact of escalating rates on low-income households. Several cities, such as Saskatoon, Edmonton and Hamilton, Ont., have adopted systems that offer lower rates for basic household water needs and higher rates for consumption levels that reflect discretionary uses such as watering lawns and filling swimming pools.

    What has been most effective are measures that lower the cost of utility infrastructure improvements for municipalities. The federal and provincial governments have provided hundreds of municipalities with water and wastewater infrastructure grants over the past two decades.

    However, these funding programs are offered irregularly and often change or disappear with election cycles. More reliable financial support from federal and provincial governments could help contain the costs for all residential consumers in the future. Another option is for municipalities and governments to more directly subsidize the water bills of low-income households.

    Another way to contain water utility costs is to better protect natural water sources from contamination. High-quality source water is less expensive to treat. Most provinces now appear to recognize the importance of developing plans that protect source water at the watershed level.