The current Ad-Hoc Climate Change Committee members are:

Eric Bonham      BCWWA  (Chair)

Glen Brown         Ministry of Community Services

Brent Burton        MetroVancouver

Brian Fast           CWRA/AWMA

Robert Hicks        MetroVancouver

Chris Johnston     Kerr Wood Leidal

Harlan Kelly         Dayton and Knight

John Manson       City of Langford

Don McCallum     Gartnerlee

Hans Schreier      UBC

Kim Stephens      WSC – BCWWA

Climate Change Workshop

April 30, 2008

A successful climate change workshop entitled “Our Climate is Changing….Now What?” was held on April 30, 2008 in Whistler. The workshop program included presentations from scientists, policy makers and practitioners who addressed from their own perspective, the issue and challenges of climate change.

A thoughtful documentary “Adapting to Climate Change in Metropolitan Vancouver” set the workshop theme by identifying the issues of sea level rise and the implications it may have upon land use planning and infrastructure in the Lower Mainland, including the potential impacts upon the Fraser River Flood Control System.

The “big picture” climate trend for British Columbia was then presented by a member of the Intergovernmental Climate Change Committee (IPCC) that recently received the Nobel Peace Prize. The speakers following this overview in the morning session thereafter identified some of the tools available to address the issue. The afternoon program involved practitioners who described what their respective communities are actually doing “on the ground” to address climate change. The speakers included representatives from Seattle Utilities, the City of Olympia and metropolitan Vancouver.

The session closed with a panel discussion identifying the main issues and next steps with regard to addressing the potential impacts of climate change upon water and wastewater infrastructure throughout British Columbia. The BCWWA Climate Change Workshop was organized in conjunction with the Canadian Water Resources Association and the Air and Waste Management Association. Next steps will include the development, in partnership with others, of a long term BCWWA climate change strategy.

Eric Bonham

Chair

BCWWA Ad-hoc

Climate Change Committee