With the Islands Trust planning a webinar on Freshwater Sustainability later this month, Life on Gabriola TV brings you an excerpt from a special meeting of the Local Trust Committee where “water balance” on Gabriola was discussed.

The Islands Trust is a BC government body with a mandate to "preserve and protect" the islands in the Salish Sea, between the mainland and Vancouver Island.

What’s water balance? As William Shulba, Senior Freshwater Specialist for the Islands Trust, explains in the meeting, it's “a holistic view of the amount of water that is available on a particular island.” Shulba proposes that a water assessment be done on Gabriola that will serve as “the main case study” in determining the water needs of islands in the Trust area generally.

“The holistic water balance approach would require deep coordination with the First Nation and with climate change professionals to truly understand if the approach to our water budget has sustainability built into it,” Shulba says. “And if it is not sustainable, if our current case is not sustainable into a changing climate, then we need to understand that and approach mitigation measures to avoid serious issues in the future.”

Other key moments:
19:00: Discussion of proposed $50,000 budget, where the money would come from, and why Gabriola has been chosen.
27:09: Will Gabriola’s six monitoring wells be enough?
36:14: Why a water methodology for Gabriola would, according to Shulba, be a “huge win” for the entire Islands Trust area. How water policy was abandoned in BC in the early 2000s and why it’s now time to become “the adults in the room.”
52:44: How the work might dovetail with the review of Gabriola’s Official Community Plan.
1:13:59: Trustee Tobi Elliott proposes creation of a “one-page case for why Gabriola is the ideal candidate” for the study and for funding from the Islands Trust to support it. A motion follows.

Life on Gabriola TV is generously sponsored by:
The Gabriola Arts Council
The Haven, Gabriola Island

Journalist: Frank Moher