Small Community Infrastructure Sustainability - Drinking Water

Find out about this site!

 Welcome to the Small Community Infrastructure "Community of Interest" Site for Drinking Water

The Ministry of Community Services, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Environment, has commenced the development of a website dedicated to Small Community Infrastructure, with the ultimate goal of creating a portal, or single point of contact, for information related to smaller community and smaller system issues. 

The site will be able to address drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater/rainwater management, inclusive of related subject areas such as groundwater, energy efficiency, First Nations issues, etc. 

Stemming from the need and desire to assist small communities manage and operate their drinking water infrastructure, the provincial government has committed to development of this website.  Two workshops were hosted initially to assist with the development of the site’s framework/structure and to ensure active involvement and collaboration with the eventual site users.  Workshop participants included operators, managers, and administrators from small community systems, Environment Canada, and provincial employees from the health authorities as well as relevant ministries.  Many associations that are deeply involved with small water systems were also present, including:

• Coastal Water Suppliers Association
• Small Water Users Association of BC
• Water Supply Association of BC
• BC Water and Waste Association
• Canadian Public Works Association
• Public Works Association of BC
• Sustainable Infrastructure Society

The end result is a website that has been designed to be user friendly, simple, and recognized as a valuable tool by those involved with all aspects of small water systems.  The site has also been designed so that it is totally dependant on contributions of resources (content, articles, tools, events, etc.) from these people who form the "community of interest".  They include:

• Water system operators, managers, administrators
• Trustees, elected officials, and volunteers
• Local Governments
• Improvement Districts
• Private Utilities
• Water Users Societies
• Provincial Ministries
• Local Health Authorities
• Federal Government
• Non Governmental Organizations
• Professional and Industry Associations
• Water Supplier Associations
• Universities and Students
• Consultants
• Other water practitioners

Users of the site are heavily encouraged to participate and contribute content.  Some examples of desirable content is as follows:

• An article about some workshops your association is hosting (or report on some that were hosted)
• An article about some research that your organization has recently done (or will be doing)
• An article about a best practices guide that you have read/developed which would be of use to others
• An article about something that your community (or another) has done with it's water systems
• An article about some new technology that you have used/know about
• An article about a website/tool/resource that you know about or have developed
• An article about something that impacts the way you manage, operate, or construct your water infrastructure
• An event

Please keep in mind that articles on this COI are like stories in a magazine/journal/newsletter.  They should not be too lengthy, they should be lively, they should have graphics/photos where possible, and have numerous hyperlinks and hotlinked words so that readers will use the story as a jumping off point to some other source of information/resource. 

By clicking on the "Contribute an Article" box on the main pages (or clicking here).  The process is very simple and self explanatory, though there is a guide available below.  

 Contributor Guide (PDF)

It is also important to acknowledge that the site also does not aim to re-invent what others have done, nor to step on their toes.  Other sites are already up and running and a valuable resource in their own right.  This "community of interest" site will merely be the "portal" to those.  By way of the "stories", readers will have their interest tweaked and be able to access relevant sites/links for more details.