 Demand
Management and the Soft Path for Water
Demand
management and the soft path for water are complementary approaches
to water management. (See Spectrum
of Management Approaches in Soft
Path for Water in a Nutshell). At
one end of the water management spectrum is the conventional supply-side
paradigm that seeks to increase supplies through infrastructure
including bigger pipes and reservoirs. At the other end of the spectrum
is the comprehensive and long-term approach of the soft path.
Demand management falls between the two and is the first incremental
step toward a holistic and sustainable soft path approach. Demand
management measures reduce the demand on water by changing behaviour,
exploring alternative water sources and developing new technologies.
The first three WSP research reports specifically
address the issues surrounding urban water demand management. Flushing
the Future and What
the Experts Think represent an examination and diagnosis of
the urban water sector. And The
Future in Every Drop is a comprehensive prescription for developing
sustainable urban water management in Canada.
The soft path for water
Taking its name from the energy
soft path of the 1970s, the “soft path” for water is
a comprehensive management and planning approach that moves
demand management to the next level. The
soft path unleashes the full potential of demand management
by simultaneously changing water-use habits, technologies, and practices.
Working within ecological limits, the soft path promotes local public
participation to ensure sustainability of our water resources. Soft
path planning looks 20 to 50 years into the future and proposes
major changes in our water infrastructure and institutions. The
focus is on designing and implementing policies and strategies today
that draw all “new” water from better use of existing
supplies and reduce or even eliminate the need for further supply-side
developments.
The soft path is a key area of the WSP team's work,
as demonstrated in the following publications and activities.
From research to action
Soft path for water PowerPoint presentation presented at the Water in the City conference in Victoria, BC in September 2006. The WSP team was involved in this international conference from the planning stages and throughout the conference at many levels, including presenting, moderating sessions and operating a display table to disseminate our research materials. See the Water in the City web site for more information.
The
Soft Path for Water: A Social approach to the physical problem of
achieving sustainable water management by
Oliver M Brandes and David Brooks (Friends of the Earth Canada)
in HORIZONS,
PRI, Volume 9, Number 1, May 2006.
The WSP team contributed research and writing to a Foundation Research Bulletin on the topic of Water Conservation in Oliver, BC published by Smart Growth on the Ground (SGOG) in April 2006.
“Changing
Perspectives - Changing Paradigms: Demand management strategies
and innovative solutions for a sustainable Okanagan water future”
by Oliver M. Brandes and Lynn Kriwoken, of BC's Ministry of Water
Land and Air Protection. Presented at the CWRA conference "Water
- Our Limiting Resource" in Kelowna, BC in February 23-25,
2005. A revised version of this paper was later published in the
Canadian
Water Resources Journal, Volume 31(2): 75-90, 2006. [Abstract]
Developing Water Sustainability Through Urban Water Demand Management Backgrounder for Environment Canada co-written by Oliver M. Brandes and Tony Maas in March 2004. This paper provides viable action plans with federal leadership for a comprehensive and long-term approach to freshwater management in Canada.
Submission
to the Prime Minister's Office in March 2004 on linking
infrastructure funding to water conservation. Submitted jointly
with Friends of the Earth Canada).
Additional resources
Capital
Regional District (CRD) Water Advisory Committee
Convening
for Action in the Okanagan at Waterbucket.ca
Environment
Canada Municipal (Water) Use Database (MUD)
Federation
of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)
Friends
of the Earth Canada
Pacific
Institute
Waterbucket.ca
- BCWWA Water Sustainability Committee
“Trickle-Up:
Demand-Side Water Economics,” by
Oliver M. Brandes, Corporate Knights
Magazine (See the CK
Web site for the entire issue), October 2004.
“Planning
for Uncertainty,” by Oliver M. Brandes and Tony
Maas, Municipal World, July 2004.
See additional publications and activities
on the Outreach
page.
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WSP Major Research Report on Urban Water Use in Canada - Fall 2008.