Progress on Living Water Smart Actions

Living Water Smart’s cornerstone position is “By 2012, all land and water managers will know what makes a stream healthy, and therefore be able to help land and water users factor in new approaches to securing stream health and the full range of stream benefits”

The Living Water Smart implementation team has been working across agencies and with stakeholders to understand the pathway required to achieve the cornerstone of this plan. Government staff spoke about the plan at more than 50 events in the first year and distributed about 7800 hard copy plans and 18,000 brochures. The website received more than 25,000 visitors and the plan was downloaded more than 4000 times from our website.

Living Water Smart actions have seen a lot of progress since the plan was released. Below are some of the highlights.  Further action by British Columbians outside of government is profiled on the Your Stories page.

Doing Business Differently

• Government has worked with VANOC to influence water smart action during the Olympics. Winter Olympics educational material and websites prepared by government include actions for sustainability.
• Development of a Water Science Strategy, which will focus on ways to share research information to advance water science in B.C., is underway.  
• The hydrometric network provides information on water quantity across the province. Funding for this network is shared between various partners, including the provincial and federal governments.
• The Ministry of Environment is leading the development of a report on the State of B.C.'s Water.  The report will examine the condition of freshwater resources in B.C. as well as pressures on these resources and societal responses to pressure.
• In response to drought conditions seen in many watersheds across the province this year, government re-released the “Dealing with Drought Handbook for Water Suppliers”. The Drought Handbook is designed to assist local water suppliers in dealing with drought management and water conservation planning. The Province’s River Forecast Centre has provided a definition of drought based on classification schemes used by the USDA and NOAA in the United States. This work also helped the government and communities respond to drought conditions in 2009.
  To prepare for potential drought conditions in future years, drought response planning will be undertaken in 2010 in collaboration with various stakeholders across the province.
• Government continues to support watershed planning processes in the province with information and resources.  Government support to the Cowichan Valley Regional District is enabling the establishment of the Cowichan Basin Water Advisory Council to oversee implementation of the Cowichan Basin Water Management Plan. Government has also supported the Township of Langley Water Management Plan, which is the first plan developed under Part 4 of the Water Act. 
• A new Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport was formed in 2008 and work is underway to improve source water protection.  Planning guidance is being designed to support those interested in developing source water protection plans.
• The Green Bylaws toolkit for wetland protection and informed development activity is now complete. Workshops were held earlier this year to give an overview of the toolkit to local governments and other stakeholders.
• Government is continually updating the criteria for provincial infrastructure grants.  Government now requires an endorsed water demand management plan before local government can apply for water related infrastructure funding.  Applicants achieve more points if they can show that they are thinking in an integrated manner (e.g., about energy, climate change adaptation, water conservation, new approaches to “waste as a resource” etc.).
• Through the Ministry of Education and Living Water Smart, government supported development of the BC Green Games – a digital competition to inspire environmental action in schools. Year one prizes have been awarded and the competition is now open for the second year.
• Local government excellence in water stewardship was recognised through the Green Cities awards presented at the 2008 UBCM Convention. Reduction of water use was one of the selection criteria.
• The Living Water Smart implementation team produced a self-guided Home Water Assessment to assess residential water use and behaviour. The Home Water Assessment was included with LiveSmart BC’s home energy assessment, which was undertaken in 40,000 homes.  Many British Columbians have shared their stories and ideas about reducing water use in their homes.

Modernizing Our Water Laws

• British Columbia has embarked on a process to review and modernize its Water Act. Referred to as the Water Act Modernization (WAM) project, the initiative aims to create a simpler, more responsive legislative framework for the stewardship and management of British Columbia’s water resources.  The project has four phases and we are currently in phase two.   Phase one of the project reviewed Water Act issues for B.C. and best practices in other jurisdictions. Reports have been commissioned from thought leaders on governance reform (e.g., Brandes & Curran and Nowlan & Bakker). Workshops on Water Governance were held around the province in 2008 and will inform modernization of the Water Act. A workshop summary report is available online.
• As part of phase two (engagement and policy development) of the Water Act Modernization project, the Minister of Environment launched the new Living Water Smart blog on December 18, 2009. The purpose of the blog is to encourage water stewardship in B.C., share ideas and stories, and celebrate our water smart successes. The blog will also be used to support dialogue on modernizing the Water Act and will complement a discussion paper and a series of meetings to be announced early in 2010. To access the blog, click here or click on one of the many ‘Living Water Smart Blog’ buttons around this site.
• The protection of water flow requirements also improved this year. Section 9 of the Fish Protection Act was brought into force to enable temporary reductions of water use to protect flows for fish. An order under Section 9 of the Fish Protection Act enables sufficient flow for fish during critical spawning times. In addition, most new water licences are being issued with “Fish Clauses” that provide the ability to regulate water licences for the benefit of aquatic values.  Further work in this area will be undertaken as part of the Water Act Modernization project.

Water for Agriculture

• Government committed to securing water for agricultural lands.  The Agricultural Water Demand Model is now operational for the Okanagan Basin and a report on water use is being prepared. The Bonaparte and Nicola basins, the Salmon River Valley, and the Similkameen Valley’s Agricultural Water Demand Models will be operational in 2010. Water demand reports for these other basins are under development also.  Further work to assess agricultural water demand is happening in the Kettle River Valley and the Fraser Valley in 2010 and 2011. The Partnership Committee on Agriculture and the Environment is reviewing options for securing access to water for agricultural land in B.C.
• The Irrigation Scheduling Calculator is now operational and helping irrigators apply the right amount of water to their crops.  The calculator provides users with an irrigation schedule using real time climate data and will help irrigators to be more water efficient. It works for both agricultural and landscaping irrigation systems. Government support continues for the delivery of irrigation Industry Association of BC Certified Irrigation Designer and Certified Irrigation Technician Programs.

Becoming More Water Efficient in B.C.

Living Water Smart outlines two important targets for water efficiency: by 2020 water use in B.C. will be 33% more efficient and 50% of new municipal demand will be met by conservation. The following actions have helped move us towards achieving these targets:

• In future, it will be easier to understand which household appliances are water efficient. Through the Western Water Stewardship Council, B.C. developed proposals for a Canada-wide water efficiency labelling program. The proposal was recently endorsed by all Canadian Premiers and a national working group established to develop the program.
• Ultra low-flow toilets (6 L) and other water-saving plumbing fixtures and fittings are now mandatory in new construction and renovations. The new Green Building Code took effect in September 2008 and implementation workshops have been held across the province.  Further work on requiring dual flush toilets is underway.
• Local governments now have a variety of tools to help them reduce GHG emissions, conserve water and energy, and work towards creating more compact, complete, and sustainable communities.  Bill 27 (Green Communities) provided the legislative amendments needed to achieve this.
• Government provided guidance to those who plan, design, and fund infrastructure to encourage the uptake of new technologies that find ways to turn our waste into resources . Government also hosted a series of workshops on water reclamation and reuse across the province. 
• A new Water Conservation Calculator illustrates how specific water conservation measures can help save water and money. Water purveyors can use the tool to assist in presenting their conservation case to local government and other decision makers. Further water demand management planning guidance for small communities is currently being finalised for release by the Ministry of Community and Rural Development.
• The Collaborative Watershed Governance Initiative has formed to advocate for a shift in governance and management and to discuss the opportunities for collaborative watershed governance in B.C.

Protecting Natures Needs

• Government supports ongoing efforts to protect and restore stream function through the Living Rivers Trust Fund.  Both the Okanagan River Restoration Initiative and the Tsolum River Restoration project are underway to restore ecological health to these areas.

In addition, government and the Wetland Stewardship Partnership are working closely with University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Clinic on a discussion paper to support a no net loss of wetlands policy.

• After considerable review by the Okanagan Nation Alliance, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the B.C. Ministry of Environment (Water Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship Divisions), and the Town of Oliver, a decision was made to retain the existing McIntyre dam structure as a dam and to make it more fish friendly by replacing the existing roller gates with overshot gates.
• Government and several non-governmental organizations have formed the Wetland Stewardship Partnership (WSP) to collaborate on wetland protection. The Wetland Stewardship Partnership released Wetland Ways: Interim Guidelines for Wetland Protection and Conservation in British Columbia.  The draft guidelines and best practices promote best management practices for wetlands. The guidelines will be pilot tested for a year and then updated based on experiences and feedback from user groups

Protecting Our Groundwater

• Consultation on and drafting of Phase 2 of the Groundwater Protection Regulation is now complete. The Township of Langley Water Management Plan, which proposes to regulate groundwater use in the area, is also complete and has been submitted to provincial government for approval. 
• In addition, government offers infrastructure funding to local governments wishing to extend their water services to areas served by wells.  In order to be eligible for the funding, local governments must adopt a well closure bylaw, requiring all property owners to close their private wells within 90 days of their property connecting to local government water services. 

To learn more about what other British Columbians are doing to live water smart see Your Stories.