Water Act Modernization Report on Engagement Now Available
**EDIT – for dial-up and mobile wireless friendly versions of the Report on Engagement, click here**
Click Here to download the Report on Engagement
The purpose of this Report is to reflect back what we heard from you on Water Act Modernization. We heard from more than 1500 respondents from around the Province and elsewhere. Your role in this process has been vital. We’ve been sure to provide due care and attention to each and every submission.
The Report on Engagement is designed to highlight the key, recurring trends in all the input that we’ve received. Each submission was reviewed and analyzed. At all stages in this process, we’ve been sure to maintain a personal connection to your input, relying on our team to champion each and every submission.
We have also posted all the written submissions that we received. Shortly, we’ll also be posting the notes from the Multi-stakeholder and First Nations engagement workshops. Input from these workshops was paired with WAM submissions to make sure we heard you correctly.
There is also a high degree of public interest in Water Act modernization and we’ve heard many requests for more participation. We’re pleased to tell you that Government is responding and will be announcing further opportunities to comment later this year. In the meantime, please continue to comment on the Living Water Smart Blog, and visit the Living Water Smart website so we can continue to work together to build a sustainable water future for all British Columbians.
Click here to see all WAM submissions
Top
I wonder if you could tell me when the next round of public consultation is scheduled and what stage in the WAM process that will take place?
Also can you give me an update about where in the WAM process we are right now? Have the options been drafted and presented to government? Have the cost-benefit and impact analysis been done?
Thanks,
Nelle
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you Nelle. As you likely saw, today we’ve released the Policy Proposal for a new Water Sustainability Act. We’re still in the engagement and consultation phase of Water Act Modernization. This new step has extended this period. The next round of public consultation – which is really an extension of the current round – will go into full swing through January 2011. We’ll have more details for you following the winter holiday period.
You could have the report available at local libraries.
Good suggestion Tara. We’re looking into this possibility. Part of our hope was to try to not print out copies of the Report on Engagement, so we can keep the costs down and minimize our environmental impacts. At the same time we want to ensure this conversation is accessible to all British Columbians. We’re still figuring this balance out, so we’re exploring how to do this better. We’ll keep you posted.
I am glad to finally see the engagement report. However, I wonder if it is available in any other format. Here in the Kootenays we have many areas that do not have access to high-speed internet. This makes it problematical for folks to download large pdf files. Both the report and all the will remain in accesible to many.
Could you not post the document somewhere on your site, so folks can read it on-line. Also do you have printed copies for citizens who do not have computers?
I also have some questions about the report. Is there a specific person or place I can ask somewhat technical questions regarding how submissions were weighted in your charts and the actual number of submissions as there are different numbers everywhere I look.
Thanks you in advance for your responses. Now I’ll get back to reading.
Thanks for your suggestions Nelle! That kind of feedback on how we can reach British Columbians better is really helpful. We want the Report on Engagement to be as accessible as possible, so we’re going to break it up into smaller pdf files – by chapter – which will be available right away. We’re looking at other online posting options, however, many of them end up creating larger file sizes too. Any suggestions as to what you think would work? We’re trying to avoid printing out copies and mailing them out, but if reducing the file size doesn’t help, we’ll look at that option.
We’d also like to keep the conversation about how we captured information on the report, the numbers and more as out in the open as possible. Many readers of the Report may have the same questions, so we’d like to answer them as efficiently as we can. The best place to ask is right here, so please, ask away!
Thanks for your suggestion about the PDF size, Nelle. We’ve just posted the Report on Engagement, in smaller, more dial-up and mobile wireless friendly sizes.