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Water-Centric Planning

Plan with a view to water – whether for a single site, a region or the entire province. Choose to live water smart. Prepare communities for a changing climate. What happens on the land matters – therefore, take into account potential impacts of land use and community design decisions on watershed function. Look at water through different lenses. When collaboration is a common or shared value, the right mix of people and perspectives will create the conditions for change.

Latest Posts

WATER SUSTAINABILITY ACTION PLAN: The Partnership’s Water-Centric Planning community-of-interest provides a legacy record for preserving stories about “Living Water Smart, British Columbia’s Water Plan” and adapting to a changing climate


“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. In effect, the Action Plan partners are functioning as the on-the-ground Living Water Smart implementation arm with local government, allowing my team to focus on legislative reform. Living Water Smart comprises 45 commitments grouped into five themes. The Action Plan has played a key delivery role in two of the five,” stated Lynn Kriwoken.

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WATER SUSTAINABILITY ACTION PLAN: Metro Vancouver guidance document for a “Watershed / Landscape-based Approach to Community Planning” is the genesis for an actionable vision for water-centric planning in British Columbia


Published in March 2002 by the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the “Watershed / Landscape-Based Approach to Community Planning” was developed by an interdisciplinary working group and is the genesis of “water-centric planning”. “An important message is that planning and implementation involves cooperation among all orders of government as well as the non-government and private sectors,” stated Erik Karlsen.

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WATER SUSTAINABILITY ACTION PLAN: Historical context for evolving from a community-of-interest on the waterbucket.ca website to implement and mainstream “Water-Centric Planning” in British Columbia


“Originally, this COI was to be called Watershed-Based Planning for consistency with the community planning element of the Water Sustainability Action Plan. However, federal and provincial funding enabled us to broaden the scope of the COI to encompass a spectrum of perspectives, ranging from provincial watershed planning to local government community planning. This expanded scope is an ambitious undertaking. We are excited by the challenges that integration of perspectives involves,” stated Robyn Wark.

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LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Mike Wei, a former Deputy Comptroller of Water Rights, is passionate about water. He cares, he really cares about getting it right at a pivotal moment in BC history,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability


“Nominally the story is that Mike Wei went to Ottawa to talk about groundwater. But that is not the story behind the story. An invitation to appear before a House of Commons Standing Committee gave Mike Wei a reason to step back, see things from afar, and describe what a path forward for groundwater management could look like in BC. Getting it right means understanding the historical context for surface and groundwater management in this province. In the story behind the story, Mike Wei presents broad brush solutions in clear terms,” stated Kim Stephens.

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PATH FORWARD FOR GROUNDWATER IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “If we have to wait for the cycle of provincial priorities to come back to water, the wait could be awhile for a water champion to show up at the political level,” states Mike Wei, former Deputy Comptroller of Water Rights


Mike Wei’s over-arching message is that water invariably gets bumped by other priorities. “The lesson from BC is that the historical regulatory context cannot be ignored in regulatory design. The science forward approach which some academics advocate is a good idea but has practical challenges. Unless you have specific legislation that actually tells you what the important requirements are, it is very hard to go forward. It can be challenging to do the science. One of the challenges with science forward is if it is not legislated, it is not a priority for government,” stated Mike Wei.

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LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “The Marine Science Thesis Course was my favourite. A big part of that enjoyment was just because the students were so excited to learn, and I was able to help them learn,” stated Zoe Norcross-Nu’u, Comox Lake Watershed Protection Coordinator


Zoe’s academic career had three distinct phases. Insights gained along the way serve Zoe well in her current watershed coordinator role. In her first three years, Zoe taught those who just wanted to take an easy science course. Seeking an opportunity to create a more meaningful learning opportunity, she developed a course called Topics in Sustainability, which was a speaker series. Through that experience, she learned the importance of finding the silver linings. A thesis class was the rewarding phase of her academic career when Zoe mentored passionate young professionals.

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SCIENCE OF FORESTS AND FLOODS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “A forest’s influence on flooding stems from the many random or ‘chancy’ features in a watershed,” stated UBC forestry professor Younes Alila in calling for a rethink of forestry practices and policy


“If we continue to mischaracterize (extremes), and if we continue to manage the forest and disturbance levels as if we were doing fine, we’re going to take the system further and further out of anything that is protective,” stated Dr. Younes Alila. And as climate extremes become more frequent and severe, he says, assessing the risks incorrectly could lead to greater damages and losses of life. He says frequency is the “lost dimension” in B.C. forest hydrology. It’s crucial to consider frequency because dikes and bridges can fail when battered by peak flows that are happening more often.

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LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Staff gives good advice and Council makes the decision – the operative phrase is a respect-based relationship,” stated Pete Steblin, former City Engineer and City Manager


By the latter part of the 2000s, Coquitlam was viewed by others in the Metro Van region as the example of what not do. Through a trust-building process guided by Pete Steblin, the City of Coquitlam turned a crisis into a transformational outcome. The city emerged as a regional green infrastructure leader. “The final solution has to be doable; it has to be achievable,” emphasizes Pete Steblin. A noteworthy aspect of the Coquitlam story is how quickly municipal staff learned from experience, adapted their approach, and successfully instilled a new way of doing business.

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LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA:“While I was studying English literature, I was also auditing classes in quantum physics. When I develop a theory, it has to have a grounding. I have to have evidence,” stated Dr. Serpil Oppermann, co-editor of The Bloomsbury Handbook to the Blue Humanities


“My evidence comes from following recent scientific developments in oceanography, limnology, marine biology, hydrology, and of course quantum physics. I am an eco-critic and environmental humanities scholar. We work at the intersections of the sciences and the humanities. The Blue Humanities is now flourishing. And the book that I am now co-editing is going to make a change. It will be THE BOOK of the field. There are hundreds of books coming out. But this is the only one with the title BLUE HUMANITIES defining the field. And it is very inclusive,” stated Serpil Oppermann.

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HOW BLUE ECOLOGY AND HARRY POTTER ARE CONNECTED: “We invited Michael Blackstock to contribute a chapter on Blue Ecology because we think Michael is well-positioned to help us achieve an ambitious goal,” stated Dr. Serpil Oppermann, co-editor of The Bloomsbury Handbook to the Blue Humanities


How are Harry Potter and Blue Ecology connected? The answer is Bloomsbury Publishing, the originating publisher and custodian of the Harry Potter series. “The Bloomsbury Handbook to the Blue Humanities has 35 chapters. My section has 10 chapters, and Blue Ecology is one of them. I knew that there is this Canadian scholar who developed Blue Ecology and he is very effective in Canada. So, I said to my team, if anyone is going to write the chapter on blue ecology it is going to be Michael Blackstock. He coined the term. It belongs to him,” stated Serpil Opperman.

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LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Blue Ecology reinforces the attitude change that is necessary to support widespread use of tools and resources that help local governments design with nature,” stated Richard Boase, career environmental champion within local government


“Think of Blue Ecology as a compass in terms of how it relates to a water-first approach to Water Reconciliation between cultures. The compass points the way forward and to success. Because of the diversity in backgrounds, skills and experiences that we have in the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, we are positioned to take what Michael Blackstock has created with the Blue Ecology framework and make it actionable in the local government sector,” stated Richard Boase.

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LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “The more you can build buzz around your work and get people energized, the more feasible it becomes. Success breeds success,” stated Dr. Jane Wei-Skillern of the University of California at Berkeley


“I was teaching an MBA elective on social entrepreneurship, was doing some case writing, and came across Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. Geraldine Peacock, the CEO, did all of these counter-intuitive things in order to get her organization’s impact bigger. But it was by decreasing their own organizational footprint, investing in their peers and former competitors, and focusing more narrowly on their core business, that enabled them to leverage their resources more broadly and create greater and more sustainable impact in the entire field,” stated Jane Wei-Skillern.

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LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “How you adapt to change is that you develop a culture where you welcome, and you try and anticipate, what a future state might be like. And then be nimble enough to adapt and adjust yourself to it,” stated Ramin Seifi, former General Manager of engineering and planning with Langley Township in the Metro Vancouver region


“In my conversations with current and former senior level municipal staff around the Metro Vancouver region, there is a sense among them that the current generation of politicians appears more interested in appeasing a few people who are outspoken, as opposed to listening to the advice of their professional staff. More than ever, we need STRONGER CHAMPIONS and people who believe in what they are doing at heart. When I reflect on my time with Langley Township, I hope my lasting contribution is the confidence that I instilled in people to not be afraid of trying something and being a champion for it,” stated Ramin Seifi.

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