Water Law, Policy and Governance

Peeling Back the Pavement: A Blueprint for Reinventing Rainwater Management in Canada's Communities

Peeling Back the Pavement: A Blueprint for Reinventing Rainwater Management in Canada’s Communities is part of POLIS' water sustainability handbook series for decision makers, community leaders, and municipal water management staff. It was developed in partnership with the Environmental Law Centre (ELC) at the University of Victoria and is based on the ELC's 2010 report Re-inventing Rainwater Management: A Strategy to Protect Health and Restore Nature in the Captical Region.

The handbook outlines the problems with conventional stormwater management and examines solutions for moving toward sustainability. It provides a comprehensive blueprint that outlines the crucial steps necessary to change the way communities manage and, importantly, govern stormwater. The blueprint describes detailed actions that local and senior levels of government can take to move from the current system of stormwater management to one focused on rainwater as a resource. A main focus is addressing the fragmented responsibility for fresh water across and within jurisdictions—one of the greatest challenges to reinventing rainwater management.

Check out the October 2011 Peeling Back the Pavement webinar here.

COMPARISON: Proposed Water Sustainability Act (2010) AGAINST ENGO Statement of Expectations (2009) AND Living Water Smart (2008)

This assessment compares the Government's proposed Water Sustainability Act (2010) to the NGO Statement of Expectations (2009) and the original Living Water Smart promises (2008). It was prepared by Randy Christensen, a lawyer with Ecojustice Canada, and Linda Nowlan, Director of Pacific Conservation, World Wildlife Fund Canada. This assessment was issued by Ecojustice Canada, POLIS Water Sustainability Project, Watershed Watch Salmon Society, and WWF-Canada.

POLIS Water Act Modernization Submission 2

This position paper is the formal response of University of Victoria’s POLIS Project on Ecological Governance to the government's Policy Proposal on British Columbia's New Water Sustainability Act (December 2010). POLIS acknowledges that the policy proposal offers a number of promising new directions. However, the analysis also suggests that a number of critical aspects have been overlooked. These include: protection of environmental flows, an allocation system that embeds the public trust, shared watershed governance, and accountability and oversight.

To see the first POLIS WAM Submission (April 2010), please click here.

Tools and Approaches for Source Water Protection in Canada

This report highlights the complexity that surrounds source water protection (SWP) activities. It demonstrates that decisions about SWP must involve careful consideration of the many pre-existing land and water management strategies that are likely to influence and affect SWP efforts. The report is not intended to be a comprehensive or exhaustive review of SWP in Canada. Instead, examples selected from all Canadian provinces and territories showcase approaches and demonstrate the wide range of tools being used in different jurisdictions.

“Wading into Uncertain Waters: Using Markets to Transfer Water Rights in Canada – Possibilities and Pitfalls”

Journal of Environmental Law & Practice, 19(3): 267-287, 2009. (I)(+)

“A New View of Water Security: Thinking Beyond Pumps and Pipes”

Municipal World Magazine, March 2007

“Putting Water Security on the Agenda,”

Dialogues, Canada West Foundation, 2(1):8, 2006. (I)(+)

NGO Statement sent to BC Ministry of Environment

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 signatory groups urge the BC government to take swift and decisive action on the issues described within.

FLOW Monitor

The FLOW Monitor is a bulletin published by the Forum for Leadership on Water (FLOW). Written primarily by FLOW members, the FLOW Monitor provides independent commentary and information on key water events and issues. The WSP team regularly contributes to the publication.

The FLOW Monitor is one of the ways FLOW works to advance the water policy debate in Canada. Each edition reviews progress on key national water priorities, celebrates successes, and reviews leading efforts to move towards a federal freshwater strategy. Articles advocate actions and policies of all orders of government who share responsibility for water security in Canada.

PDFs of the current and past volumes can be downloaded at the bottom of this page. For the French versions, please visit http://www.flowcanada.org/policy/monitor/past-issues.

Setting a New Course in British Columbia - Water Governance Reform Options and Opportunities

This detailed policy paper explores the options and opportunities for water governance reform in British Columbia. The paper was developed to assist the Ministry of Environment with its commitment to address water management and modernize the 100 year old Water Act that is no longer able to deal with existing and emerging water issues in the province. Recognizing that governance alone cannot correct inadequate water management, but poor governance will almost certainly prevent effective management, the report outlines three possible paths forward and emphasizes the need to build institutional and ecosystem resilience.

WSP Newsletter

Subscribe to the WSP Newsletter to stay informed about water issues and WSP initiatives. You can also check out past issues.