Regional District of Nanaimo is being honored for its program that protects area water resources.
The RDN is receiving the Environmental Operators Certification Program’s Innovation Award for its drinking water and watershed protection program, according to a press release from the non-profit which certifies operators and classifies facilities to ensure safe drinking water and wastewater management for the B.C. and Yukon.
The new award recognizes initiatives taken to safeguard public health and environmental protection and encourage such innovation, the press release said.
“As the first regional government service in B.C. created a to explicitly protect water at a watershed scale, this program has been a leading example of how local governments can drive innovation and be a powerful influencer in source drinking water protection and watershed governance,” said the press release.
The RDN program celebrated 10 years of existence in 2019 and continues to focus on watersheds, as opposed to jurisdictional areas for its program activities. This includes water awareness, stewardship, water science and information and water-centric policy and planning support, the press release said.
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