The Water Sustainability Project team continues to emphasize a strategic public policy advocacy role and is communicating project research widely.
The POLIS Water Sustainability Project is honoured to be a featured project in Water’s Next 2012.
Water’s Next is an annual publication of Water Canada magazine that highlights significant contributions to Canada’s waterscape.
“Water’s Next celebrates some of the best and brightest of Canada’s water champions,” says Kerry Freek, editor of Water Canada. “Congratulations to the featured nominees for their hard work and commitment to making safe, healthy water resources a priority.”
To read the Water’s Next article about the WSP click here or download the PDF file at the bottom of this page. To learn about the other featured nominees visit www.watersnext.ca.
The Fall 2011 issue of The Grand, the newsletter of the Grand River Conservation Authority, highlights the POLIS Water Sustainability Project report A Soft Path Strategy for Fergus-Elora, Ontario, including an interview with Innovation & Technology Director Carol Maas, and describes the potential for a successful soft path approach in the Grand River watershed. A PDF copy of the newsletter can be downloaded at the bottom of this page. The article "The Soft Path to saving water" by Janet Baine is found on pages six and seven.
A profile of the POLIS Water Sustainability Project, authored by POLIS' Laura Brandes, was published in the July 2011 issue of Runoff, BC-CWRA's digital newsletter. A PDF copy of the newsletter can be downloaded below. The POLIS profile is on pages nine and 10.
Oliver M. Brandes was recently invited to serve on the Council of the Federation Water Partner Advisory Committee (WPAC) to provide advice to its Water Stewardship Council (WSC).
Comprised of one senior government official from each province and territory, the Council of the Federation established the WSC in 2011 to:
- provide information and strategic advice to Premiers on key trends, issues and opportunities related to Canada’s water resources; and
- promote and, where appropriate, implement the commitments of the 2010 Council of the Federation Water Charter.
The WPAC includes representation from across Canada and from various sectors. Its members will provide advice to the WSC and offer a linkage to current, non-governmental water activity.
For more information on the Council of the Federation Water Stewardship Council and Water Partner Advisory Committee, please click here. For the official, June 14, 2011 press release on the establishment of the WSC and WPAC, please download the PDF below.
Laura Brandes authored an exposition of the water soft path in the May/June 2011 issue of Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine.
To download a PDF file of the water soft path article, click the link below.
To read the digital issue of the most recent ES&E Magazine, click here.
Oliver M. Brandes discusses freshwater governance in The Hill Times. The article, "Environment commissioner anticipates federal action to improve freshwater monitoring," is part of a series of Water and Oceans Policy Briefings.
To read the article on The Hill Times website, please click here.
To download a PDF copy of the article, reprinted with permission from The Hill Times, please click below.
Karl-Erich Lindenschmidt reviewed Making the Most of the Water We Have: The Soft Path Approach to Water Management in the March 2011 issue of Canadian Water Resources Journal stating, "This book provides a fresh perspective on tackling water management issues and is a “must read” for anyone involved in managing water resources."
Edited by POLIS' David B. Brooks and Oliver M. Brandes, and environmental consultant Stephen Gurman, Making the Most of the Water We Have was published by Earthscan in 2009. The soft cover edition was released in March 2011.
The full CWRJ review can be found here.
POLIS WSP's Oliver M. Brandes is quoted in this Kelowna Capital News article, "Water ‘IQ’ should be determined before suggesting changes" from his participation in a World Water Day panel discussion organized by the Okanagan Basin Water Board.
Carol Maas describes the importance of embracing a new vision of water stewardship in York Region as a member of the Long Term Water Conservation Strategy advisory panel.
Oliver M. Brandes' presentation, "Thinking like a watershed: the future of water law and governance in B.C. and beyond," is profiled in the University of British Columbia Okanagan News. This talk was presented as part of the UBC Okanagan Distinguished Speaker Series and highlights the trends and challenges around water management, law, and governance.
WSP Project Leader, Oliver M. Brandes, talks with Mark Forsythe, host of CBC's BC Almanac, about the need for an updated provincial Water Act, the British Columbia Water Act Modernization process, and POLIS WSP's recent submission in response to the Government's Water Sustainability Act Policy Proposal.
A book review by Dr. Paehlke of "Making the Most of What We Have" was released in the December, 2010 issue of Critical Policy Studies Journal.
From the energy used to bring water to the tap to the water required for fossil fuel extraction, the water-energy nexus comes full circle in this article by POLIS' Carol Maas. Published in the December 2010 Water issue of Alternatives Journal.
Access to fresh water is quickly becoming one of the world's most critical concerns. This fact is perhaps not much acknowledged in water-rich Canada or on its wet West Coast. However, a recently McAllister Opinion Research public opinion poll commissioned by the Vancouver Foundation and WWF-Canada confirms that, as a whole, British Columbians understand the coming water challenges.
In the Vancouver Sun op-ed "B.C. needs to get water rules right," POLIS' Oliver M. Brandes and Rod Dobell discuss the results of this major survey.
PDF files of the op-ed and a summary of the poll results can be downloaded below.
Carol Maas and Matt Binstock discuss the benefits of Ontario's new Water Opportunities Act in the September/October issue of Water Canada.
WSP team member Liz Hendriks examines the opportunity for implementing the public trust doctrine in BC with the Government's interest in modernizing the outdated Water Act.
In October, POLIS team members Susanne Porter-Bopp, Elizabeth Hendriks traveled to Banff, Alberta and helped facilitate the 2010 Canadian Water Innovation Lab along with 46 others. WSP Project Leader Oliver Brandes attended as a resource guest discussing the future of water infrastructure across Canada and the emerging trends, opportunities and challenges facing water governance in British Columbia.
Hosted by Waterlution – A Water Learning Experience, the event attracted more than 200 Canadian youth committed to learning and constructing a dialogue surrounding the many challenges and opportunities facing Canadians around water. The event allowed attendees to freely interact with experts and through field tours develop an understanding of complex water issues in Canada. The facilitators found that the friendly, informal “retreat-style” format excelled at driving attendees to challenge each other and critically delve into complicated issues – a valuable educational opportunity for all involved.
Our recent report on water conservation-based pricing gets national attention in the September/October 2010 edition of Water Canada!
Check out a new review for "Making the Most of the Water We Have" found in the May, 2010 issue of Water International.
WSP Community Water Coordinator Susanne Porter-Bopp was interviewed by British Columbia MLA Michelle Mungall on the topic of urban water issues in Canada as part of the "Women & Water" radio series at the BC Legislature.
Spring is supposed to be time of renewal, of optimism and joy at the prospects of hot summer days ahead. Instead, here in British Columbia, Environment Minister Barry Penner is warning us that insufficient snow pack and a dry spring may be conspiring to create potentially serious water shortages for some communities. This is a dire situation indeed and perhaps a time to take a serious look at what it will take to begin balancing our water budget and how we price this most precious of resources. Read the full op-ed here.
Project leader Oliver M. Brandes chats with Jo-Ann Roberts about the myth of water abundance and the need for Canadians to focus on Conservation-Oriented Water Pricing. Click here to hear the podcast.
WSP Project Leader Oliver Brandes was featured in an interview on the state of Canada's water on CTV's Business News Network on World Water Day - March 22, 2010.
POLIS' Water-Energy work was featured in Alternatives' New Energy Issue.
This document answers the call of the Premier of British Columbia for citizens to become part of the solution for securing our water future. It outlines key minimum steps critical to protecting this precious resource. This statement of expectations was developed through study and consultation, and the undersigned groups urge the BC government to take swift and decisive action on the issues described below.
