Team WaterSmart

It's important to be Water Smart! Every drop counts.

Water Conservation Framework:

During the hot summer months, watering conservation regulations are imposed to protect and conserve our water supply. Records with Environment Canada indicate that, on average, our area receives only about 100 mm of precipitation during June, July and August combined!

To see which watering conservation stage your area is on, and to know which rules apply, click here.

Note: Vegetable gardens and fruit trees are exempt from conservation measures

What are the benefits of water conservation?

• Meet current water supply demands for drinking, fire protection, and irrigation.
• Avoid or postpone the costs of new infrastructure, including reservoirs, pumping stations and pipelines.
• Save money on water and energy bills.
• Reduce the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) which are produced when treating and moving water and wastewater to and from our homes.
• Apportion water resources for Ecosystem Services (these are benefits that humans obtain from ecosystems such as fish and wildlife, habitat, recreation).

Water Saving Tips & Resources:

Want to learn how to save more water around your property? Check out these informative links!

• Up to 65 percent of water used to irrigate is lost to inefficient watering practices. Learn our top 10 irrigation tips here and our irrigation scheduling recommendations here.
• Harvesting rainwater is a great and efficient way to water your garden. Click here to learn how to utilize rain barrels and here to learn about rain gardens. Want to build a rain barrel? Watch this video! The RDN also offers rebates to help you cover the costs of a large rainwater cistern. Click here to check them out!
• Water efficient yards can be beautiful and sustainable. Native plants look amazing and are more acclimated to the Island's climate. For more information, click here. Xeriscaping is another great option that aims to reduce or completely eliminate the need for watering in your yard. For more information, click here.

Check out these links for more great resources:

• Detailed Landscaping Guide to Water Efficiency: Click Here
• WaterSmart Healthy Lawn Care: Click Here
• Water Wise Gardening: Click Here
• How to check if your house has a leak: Click Here
• Water Saving FAQs: Click Here

Find even more helpful information in our "Document Library" located on the right side of the page or the Drinking Water and Watershed Protection program website here!

Summer Water Saver Contest:

You won't want to miss the RDN's WaterSaver contest that aims to promote efficient water use practices through an online contest! Residents can show off their outdoor water saving practices for a chance to win a rain barrel! More details to come.

2023 WellSmart Workshops

Fall 2023 WellSmart Workshops

We will be hosting two in-person WellSmart Workshops this fall:

Thursday, October 26, 6-8 p.m. Gabriola Aggi Hall, 465 South Road, Gabriola

Wednesday, November 1, 2023 from 6-8 p.m. at the Cavalotti Hall, 2060 East Wellington Road

This workshop is FREE and open to all RDN residents. REGISTER HERE or by calling 250-248-3252

Help protect the groundwater we share.

The WellSmart education program helps private well owners protect the quality and supply of their drinking water. As a private well owner, you have access to one of nature's most valuable resources - cool, clean groundwater. You rely on this precious resource to supply clean, safe drinking water to your family.

Learn how to keep your well in safe running order! WellSmart Workshops will provide you with an opportunity to ask questions of local well drillers and pump installers, Island Health, Ministry of Forests.

As your own 'water manager', it is your job to be WellSmart and properly care for your well in order protect the health of your family, friends, community, and environment. Your well is the most important asset on your property and without an adequate water supply, your property value may decline. Taking proper care of your well may protect your investment and extend the operational life of your well.

Learn about:

• Well Maintenance and operation
• Protecting your water source
• Water testing and treatment
• Water treatment options
• Drought management

Can't attend? No worries! We have the 2021 WellSmart Webinar available online 2021 WellSmart Workshop

Whether your household receives water from a municipal or RDN water system or you have you own well, water is a shared resource. On the 'wet coast' of B.C., it is easy to take our water supply for granted. In dry summer months, water consumption triples, even though there is much less water available. As the region grows, more people will be using the same limited resource. The quantity and quality of our water are directly impacted by human activity including the amount we use on a daily basis. It is important that we all do our part to protect our water.

The RDN's WaterSaver contest aims to promote efficient water use practices this summer through our online contest!

Show off your water-saving landscaping, efficient irrigation, rainwater harvesting or other ways you are reducing outdoor water use on your property for a chance to win a rain barrel and native plants prize package!

Plus all entries get a lawn sign to proudly display that you are doing your best to be WaterSmart!

How to enter:

Either take a photo or write a description and:

1. Go to the RDN's Facebook @RegionalDistrictofNanaimo or Instagram @rdnanaimo and comment on the RDN's WaterSaver contest post with your photo or description OR
2. Send via email to watersmart@rdn.bc.ca

Contest runs all summer long and closes Monday September 25, 2023.

Click here for your WaterSmart Yard Sign - weekly drop off or pick up times throughout the summer!

By submitting your photo, you are consenting to the contest rules and grant the RDN the following: a royalty-free, nonexclusive right, in perpetuity, to use the submitted photograph(s) in print and online; the right to scale, crop or alter the color of the submitted image(s) for publication purposes; and consent to use your name in connection with the contest.

Water to Earth Month 2023 is an activity packed, month-long celebration that takes place between World Water Day to Earth Day.

• Water to Earth Month kicks off on World Water Day on March 22 and ends on Earth Day on April 22. The event is focused around this year’s themes of ‘Accelerating Change’ with a focus on partnerships and cooperation and ‘Invest in our Planet’.
• Residents are encouraged to take part in Water to Earth Month by registering for one of the scheduled events, visiting the RDN Team WaterSmart Get Involved page for online activities, and checking out the RDN’s social media for fun contests

Events this year include a WellSmart Workshop, Hike and Hatchery Tour at Nile Creek, WaterSmart Gardening Workshop, Raingardens Walk and Talk, Natural Landscapes and Climate Change Workshop, Bio Blitz, a Stewards in the Spotlight event and online contests and activites. See you there!

Check back at this page for event updates from the RDN and our community partners, Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Reserve (MABR), City of Nanaimo, Nanaimo Area Land Trust (NALT) , VIU and Mosaic Forestry

The RDN’s Drinking Water and Watershed Protection (DWWP) Program has been hosting Water to Earth Month events with community partners for the last 6 years. Its aim is to actively engage the community to build awareness about local water resources and environmental stewardship.

Check back often as we add more events, activities and online contests!

Watershed Field Trips are back this Fall for Grades 4 and 5 in School District 68 & 69!

Call 250-390-6560 or email watersmart@rdn.bc.ca to book this experience for your Grade 4 or 5 class! Limited number of trips available.

To promote watershed education in our region, we are taking students out of the classroom and into their drinking watershed! Students will participate in various fun activities that focus on a sensory experience of the river, the forest, the reservoir, the watershed ecosystems and make important connections to their everyday life. Hop on our bus to discover the landscape that water travels through before it comes out of the tap!

This full-day trip is available to Grade 4 & 5 classes in School Districts 68 and 69, as it is designed to be strongly connected to Life & Earth Science PLOs. It includes a pre-trip and post-trip curriculum connected activity guide for teachers to extend the learning experience. Bus transportation will be provided to and from your school.

Trips run to the Englishman River (SD69) or the Nanaimo River (SD68) in May, June, September and October.

Teachers! We now have curriculum based school modules for you to use in your K-7 classrooms. "Freshwater Connections" are a series of six modules for either K-3 or 4-7 classrooms and include classroom presentations, activities and extension materials. These modules combine Indigenous knowledge, local references and science, cultural and hands-on activities to reinforce learning.

Check them out at rdn.bc.ca/school-education

Are you interested in providing feedback to Team WaterSmart on these modules? We'd love to hear from you! email watersmart@rdn.bc.ca

Our landscape guide helps you make landscape choices that maximize water retention during times of drought as well as reduce wildfire risk and combines these FireSmart and WaterSmart principles with the East Coast of Vancouver Island climate and native species in mind.

WaterSmart design aims to enhance resilience to drought by reducing the amount of watering required and increasing the storage capacity of your landscape soils. FireSmart landscaping reduces the risk of wildlfire damaging structures on your property. Learn more about maximizing these two principles with our new guide.

Download your copy here

Thank you for Participating in our Freshwater Survey!

Between June 28 and August 2, 2021 Ipsos conducted a randomized survey on behalf of the RDN using a mixed telephone /online survey methodology. In total, 1,393 surveys with adult residents in the region were completed! This included a balance of responses from the Electoral Areas and Municipalities.

The objective of the survey was to better understand community perspectives, behaviours, and priorities concerning freshwater resources in the region. The 2021 survey will act as a benchmark against which follow up surveys can be compared to gauge change and progress.

To learn more, please check out the RDN Freshwater Perspectives Public Benchmark Survey Final Report

A staff report summarizing the findings was received by the RDN Board on Oct. 26th; you can find that report here: https://rdn-pub.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=19956

The results from the survey will help tailor Drinking Water and Watershed Protection program implementation to best suit the needs of and address the gaps present in various communities.

Thank you again to all who participated!

If you have further questions, please contact us at 250-390-6560 or waterprotection@rdn.bc.ca