Drinking Water and Watershed Protection Action Plan Update

Please review the near final draft of the updated DWWP Action Plan for 2020-2030 and share your comments in the forum below or email the program coordinator at waterprotection@rdn.bc.ca. We'd love to hear from you! Note that to add your comment to the forum, you must be registered and signed in to this project page.

We are now in the final stages of bringing our updated DWWP Action Plan to completion. We've gathered community input and ideas and technical advice throughout the process. We have captured this direction in a document that outlines the vision, mission, goals and objectives, along with a collection of supporting actions.

The initiatives within this Plan reflect the feedback from this process which indicated strong support to continue the activities that were most effective from the first 10-years and provided clear direction to scale up from the status quo and take on additional initiatives, driven by the urgency of climate change, existing organizational commitments, identified areas of stress, and opportunity for collaboration.

The items that emerged as new priorities during the engagement process amount to an increase in effort of approximately 50% and require a corresponding increase of resources. To advance these priority actions starting in 2020, a rise in the regional parcel tax from $8 to $12 is proposed for consideration in the 2020 budget process.This is described in the RDN 2020 Proposed Budget, which is also open for public consultation. Visit www.getinvolved.rdn.ca/rdn-budget-talks to review and comment on the budgetary aspects.

The Compilation and Prioritization Phase of the Action Plan Update project has completed! Public input and technical advice has been gathered from March through June, to refresh the Drinking Water and Watershed Protection program mandate, priorities and activities for the next 10 years and beyond.

One key step in this phase was running Structured Decision-Making workshops to inform recommendations on updated goals, objectives, program actions and key initiatives. These two workshops were held in May and June with experts on our Technical Advisory Committee, Board Steering Committee and Interdepartmental Working Group representatives; the outcomes are now summarized in a report. Please look under Documents section to find the summary report and check it out! 

This Forum topic area is intended to provide space for any comments or discussion on the findings from the workshop process, for those who dive into the report and have ideas and reflections to share!

If you look into the future 50 years and beyond, what do you see? Are our communities filled with rain gardens, green roofs and permeable pavement? Are there fish spawning in the creek in your backyard? Can you safely collect shellfish at the beach in your town? Do First Nations and local governments work together closely and productively? Is it the norm to have veggie gardens in urban areas? Do school groups regularly take part in water stewardship projects? Can you look up water data easily on your mobile device? 

We want you to picture a future where water resources are abundant and healthy and share your ideas for how we can get there! This could include through education initiatives, science programs and policy innovations.

Share your vision below in the Forum!