WATER BUCKET WEBSITE PARTNERSHIP
The partnership is a consortium of Federal and Provincial Ministries, Crown Corporations, Government Agencies,
Associations and private company stakeholders that have provided the funding that has enabled development of the waterbucket.ca website.
The initiative is led by the Water Sustainability Committe (WSC) of the British Columbia Water & Waste Association (BCWWA).
Water Sustainability Committee - A technical committee of the BCWWA, the WSC is a broad-based and informal coalition with
representation from government and non-government organizations (including the private sector, academic institutions and community stewardship groups).
The mission of the WSC is to facilitate the move toward a more sustainable approach to water resource management and water use in British Columbia – at
all levels from the province to the household. For more information, please click here.
Through partnerships with the Ministry of Environment and others, the WSC has created and is now promoting implementation of
the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia.
Contact Information
For general enquiries regarding the WaterBucket Website Partnerhip, or story ideas and/or suggestions regarding community-of-interest content, you can contact us via the Program Coordinator (Kim Stephens) for the Water Sustainability
Action Plan for British Columbia, at outreach@waterbucket.ca
Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia
The waterbucket.ca website is the key to the communication strategy for the
Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia.
It is designed to provide the complete story on integrated water management - why, what, where and how.
WaterBucket Partners with Stewardship Centre of British Columbia to Launch Website
The waterbucket.ca website is a partnership initiative led by the Water Sustainability Committee of the BC Water & Waste Association.
The site is stand-alone, yet is hosted by and integrated with the Stewardship Centre for BC website. The Centre is part of a national coalition of government
and non-government organizations that functions under the Stewardship Canada umbrella.
According to Michael Tanner, Chair of the WaterBucket
Website Partnership, 'Integration with the Stewardship Centre has enabled us to build on an existing foundation and achieve synergies that have enabled us to
fast-track the development and launching of waterbucket.ca.' The WaterBucket Website Partnership has representation from provincial ministries,
federal agencies, Crown corporations, non-government associations and the private sector.
Sylvia von Schuckmann, Chair of the Interim Steering Committee of the Stewardship Centre for BC, notes that
'The partnership between the Centre and waterbucket.ca is exciting. It greatly enhances important water-related information
that is available on-line and will benefit a broader user community.'
The Stewardship Centre for BC is part of a national coalition that functions under the Stewardship Canada umbrella. The Centre became
the prototype for the national Stewardship Canada Portal a number of years ago. Both the hardware and software are located in BC, and have been made available
by the Interim steering Committee of the Stewardship Centre for BC for use on the Stewardship Canada Portal. This arrangement allows all provinces and
territories to create their own independently managed provincial stewardship centres, to share operating costs and to share product development
costs.
Communities of Interest
The notion of a web-based Community-of-Interest (COI) has been developed to respond to the needs of organizational
clusters which evolve to discuss and communicate ideas around a specific issue. The waterbucket.ca comprises a set of COIs that include the six elements
of fhe Water Sustainability Action Plan for British
Columbia.
- Water Use and Conservation - This was the first COI to be launched. It is
built around the Water $ave Tool Kit for British Columbia, and has a focus on identifying and publicizing Success Stories.
- Rainwater Management - This COI reflects the recent change in thinking from the
single function view of traditional 'stormwater management' to the integrated and comprehensive perspective that is captured by the
term 'rainwater management'.
- Green Infrastructure - This COI is the communication vehicle for the
Green Infrastructure Partnership, the mission of which is to provide leadership and encourage implementation of clearly defined green
infrastructure standards and regulatory models in British Columbia.
- Water-Centric Planning - This COI promotes 'planning with a view to water',
and applies a water balance lens to the preparation and implementation of plans, policies, and programs.
- Convening for Action - This COI is about turning ideas into action.
The focus is on education as the means for bringing about ;a new ethos and shifting practice in British Columbia to address water use as an integral part of land use.
- Agriculture and Water - This COI is in the early stages of development
Each COI is a self-managing website that provides easy access to a variety of information modules developed within the COI structure. This dynamic
information source is developed on a collaborative, non-proprietary platform that allows emerging communities to leverage the investment of existing
partners and use communication and web development resources effectively.
Water, Water Everywhere....
The common perception is that British Columbia has an abundance of water... But does it?
In fact, many water suppliers and managers in B.C. report that limited source quantity is a concern, especially given the population growth and
drought conditions we’ve experienced over the last few years.
The waterbucket website is developed 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. More specifically, it will:
- track progress and trends throughout the province;
- highlight conservation success stories;
- identify gaps, barriers, and opportunities for improved conservation; and
- outline further actions needed by public, private, and volunteer sectors.
For comments or suggestions please contact our editor at outreach@waterbucket.ca.
