There’s a lot to consider with how quickly these wildfire grew and how communities and agencies are reacting and responding. The best news is that proactive evacuations are in place, with the aim of reducing last-minute fleeing. I’ll update this page as news and images come in. (Due to the Storify service closing down, this […]
Category Archives: UrbanWorkbench News
Camp Creek Mudslide
One of the challenges of living in the Interior of BC is that the routes between communities are through mountain passes and in bottom of narrow winding river valleys. The effort to keep these routes open year round is Herculean, with rock scaling and ditching in the Spring, paving in the summer, and snow removal […]
90% of Municipal Engineering is Communication
I’m regularly reminded of the importance of communication as a part of municipal #engineering as I provide updates on projects and operations to decision-makers. Unfortunately, most university programs in engineering, and many junior level positions fail to prepare graduates and young engineers for this reality. Design work, physics, materials, mechanics, chemistry, and hydraulics are foundational […]
Prince Albert’s Water, Oil Pipelines, and the Precautionary Principle
The City of Prince Albert in #Saskatchewan, #Canada has secured emergency water supply after almost two weeks of no water following an oil spill in the North Saskatchewan River by Husky Oil. Three different sources https://twitter.com/BryanEneas/status/757695120800034816 A 30km temporary water line was installed from the South Saskatchewan River to the City’s water treatment plant, and […]
White Rock Fire Results in Boil Water
Fighting the flames had put such a demand on the small local #water system that the city’s reservoirs dropped to “dangerously low” levels, explained councillor David Chesney. “We haven’t drained our reservoirs, but they’ve gone down a tremendous amount in fighting this #fire,” “We’ve not had any indication that there is a major problem yet, but […]
How do You Enchant Your Employees
This is a great list of ideas to engage your employees. The word “enchantment” originally meant to surround with song or incantation, to cast a spell with sounds. The modern-day definition is a bit broader: to engage the senses, elevate the spirit, and leave a person “transfixed in a simultaneously pleasurable and uncanny state of […]
Complexity and Obsolescence
“The chief cause of problems is solutions” – Eric Sevareid “Solutions are not the answer” – Richard Nixon [Tweet “”Solutions are not the answer” – Richard Nixon”] In my role at the City of Revelstoke, I am confronted with years of amassed data, much of it in the City’s GIS system, but occasionally, questions asked […]
CNAM Annual Conference 2015
After a great first day of presentations at the connference, I’m ending the night running through my presentation for the 2015 Canadian Network of Asset Managers conference in Vancouver for tomorrow. I’ll be presenting on infrastructure decision-making and the Envision Sustainability Rating System and how this ties to traditional concepts of asset management. https://twitter.com/urbanworkbench/status/598340551742660609 I […]