July 24, To Whom It May Concern,

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2 July 24, 2008 To Whom It May Concern, On behalf of the Capital Regional District Board and its members, I am pleased to support the CRD s application to the UBCM Community Excellence Awards, in the category of Best Practices, Website. It is a pleasure to recommend the CRD for this honour, for its work in creating the new Wastewater Treatment website [ A tremendous amount of work has gone into assuring that the website provides residents with detailed, thorough and solution oriented information on wastewater treatment issues in the CRD s Core Area. CRD staff created a website that is easy to navigate, informative, and which can easily be used as a example site by other UBCM members. I am in full support of this application, and I am pleased that the CRD has taken the time and effort to apply. Thank you for the opportunity to celebrate improvements in local government in BC. I wish you all the best in your deliberations. Sincerely, Denise Blackwell Chair Capital Regional District Board

3 Wastewater Treatment Made Clear, Capital Regional District 2008 UBCM Community Excellence Awards, Best Practices, Website

4 Project Summary Report Wastewater Made Clear Website Capital Regional District Project Summary The Capital Regional District (CRD) has developed the new Waste Water Made Clear Website [ separately from the CRD website to focus on informing and educating the public on the CRD Liquid Waste Management Plan. This plan involves construction of land-based sewage treatment for the Core Area municipalities of Colwood, Esquimalt, Langford, Oak Bay, Saanich, Victoria and View Royal. Wastewater treatment is a highly controversial issue in the CRD. The Wastewater Made Clear Website exhibits web site best practices including cross-platform and browser accessibility, efficient navigation, innovative design timely and accurate content, all of which contribute to providing accountable information to CRD residents, technical experts, business owners, media and politicians. The Wastewater Made Clear site aims to be an interactive medium for CRD residents and a valuable public participation tool to receive and gather feedback from residents. Context Currently, wastewater effluent is screened and discharged by long outfall into the Juan de Fuca Strait. Land-based treatment will see the construction of a number of treatment plants, for the processing, treating and possible resource recovery of wastewater effluent and biosolids. Every aspect of this mandated process has extreme import for the residents of the core area. Issues such as siting, engineering, environmental impact, cost, resource recovery and timing have all been fiercely debated by leading scientists, engineers and politicians. Core Area residents have a vested interest in the decisions made during the project s tenure; timely updates and access to information was necessary to fulfill the CRD s commitment to transparent communications. Why was a new website needed? The CRD was mandated by the Province to implement secondary treatment in the Core Area. Currently, the CRD is investigating siting options and finalizing its plans for resource recovery and reuse. Previous web based information on the wastewater project was contained in five pages on the CRD s main website. The information was difficult to navigate, incomplete, and could not be expanded within the existing site without significant restructuring. Creation of a new site was completed in order to provide residents with an easy to navigate, interactive, informative venue for the project. By building a separate website, the CRD accomplished several tasks: Created a separate website url which is used in advertising and media, and which brands the new site as specific to the project. Gave the project the space and forum it needs to communicate effectively with residents. Created a new web look, which reflects the values and goals of the wastewater project, through use of design, photography and writing style. This style is also used in the CRD s advertising and consultation materials, in order to create a cohesive and organized look for the project.. Created a site which is updated and expanded as necessary, to accommodate milestones in the project s tenure. Prevented tunneling and drilling down from the main site in order to reach relevant information about wastewater. In the new site usually one click is needed to access information; a maximum of three clicks takes you to any page in the site. As a Public Participation Tool: with the delays to the Wastewater Treatment Project, public hearings were not held in 2007; the new website has provided a forum for feedback from CRD residents, which is essential in the political process. Website Specs Technical The CRD created a website that embraces new web technology, while maintaining standards for

5 accessibility. The site s technology uses a mix of static HTML pages with user interface scripting built on the MooTools JavaScript framework and custom developed Microsoft.NET applications. This mix allowed the CRD to create a rich user interface that is responsive and elegant. The site is also integrated with the CRD s Adobe Contribute-based content management system which puts control of the website s content in the hands of the end-user and equipped with Google search tools. Security All of the web servers maintained by the CRD are located within our physically isolated and secure DMZ network protected by our Microsoft ISA 2004 firewall. The CRD utilizes sophisticated firewall policies that restrict service availability and access to all publicly facing servers but still allow the essential web services to be accessible. Restrictive access to each server helps to mitigate known, and even unknown, internet based threats that typically exploit operating system and service flaws. The CRD actively reviews and applies the latest Microsoft security and critical updates to publicly accessible servers; in some cases these updates are applied nightly if needed. The CRD performs complete data backups of all web content nightly as part of the disaster recovery process. Navigation The navigation structure and copy were both created in-house. The result is a website that presents all of the relevant material in a structure that is easy to navigate. Design For graphic design the CRD contracted local designers to produce a fresh and enticing look. The CRD took the basic design and developed it for implementation on the web, supplementing the graphics with photographs found in the public domain and acquired from local photographers. The look of the new site is environmentally friendly, dynamic and technologically innovative. Use of local photos help create a sense of a manageable, recognizable project, which can be explored and understood by all CRD residents. The result is a site that enhances the end-user s experience and keeps maintenance costs low, without requiring a substantial investment in new resources. Content Management & Updates The Wastewater Made Clear website and domain name is owned by the CRD. Content updates of the site are performed by CRD staff. The site was conceived in Fall 2007 and implemented in April/May 2008, with a go live date of June 6, Website Structure The site has five sections, each with a drop down menu. Each page displays a main column and an expandable right hand column which features additional information, links and updates. Quotations from the text are used along with images in order to create an attractive and appealing look to the site. Maps are clickable to provide users with a large scale versions. Two permanent button links at the top of the left column provide residents with links to the feedback page and the archived documents. Landing Page An innovative landing page was designed to receive visitors to the website. Set up with the same navigation as the interior of the site, this page provides space for news and updates on the treatment project, as well as a short introduction to the project itself. Built to contain the most relevant keyword tags in the project thereby increasing our rating on Google and to provide a visually pleasing entry to the site, the landing page can be expanded in the future and altered to suit changing needs. Tab One: What is Wastewater Treatment? This section provides an overview of wastewater treatment technologies and options from around the world, in order to ground residents in the options available when choosing treatment. Benefits By providing a background on wastewater treatment options around the world, we ensure that residents

6 have the opportunity to educate themselves on the basics of treatment terms, technologies and infrastructure. This decision was made to maximize transparency in our relationship with residents. By knowing more, residents can better contribute to public consultation sessions; by becoming aware of the options in treatment technologies, they can better understand the CRD s decisions. Tab Two: Wastewater Treatment in the CRD This section expands on treatment options specific to the CRD, including siting, engineering, funding, costs, schedule and frequently asked questions. Benefits This section is the backbone of the site. It contains current information on the project s status. By placing this information in one tab, we have created an easy to navigate, time-saving structure which allows people to read updates on the project based on topic area. Separation of sections one and two also allows the public to clearly see what is possible in wastewater treatment, and what the CRD has decided to implement. Tab Three: Environmental Protection This section relates to environmental concerns. Topics covered include environmental benefits, impacts and the CRD s strategies.. Benefits Environmental Protection was separated out to acknowledge residents interest and dedication to environmental issues, and to provide clear and easy access to information on this topic. The CRD has a reputation for dedication to sustainability and biodiversity. The new website was an opportunity to showcase this commitment. Tab Four: Public Input The Public Input section, provides residents with methods of public consultation and education, and a history of past events. This section is designed to expand as the project progresses. Benefits Effective communication and consultation with residents is easier and more effective using the new website. The old pages contained only a short contact list and little public input history. The CRD will be using the site in the future to help advertise upcoming public events and to provide a history of the methods of consultation used. Tab Five: Media Room The Media Room contains past and current press releases all provided in html format a list of reports on treatment process research, an archived document listing and an image library, where media or the public may download images and maps which pertain to the project. Benefits Quick search abilities allow residents to find both current and archived information with ease. Information is current and updated immediately when needed. See below for benefits of the Archived Documents page. Innovative Strengths Use of PDFS & HTML For the most part, we use html rather than pdf versions of information. The exceptions, for long documents which do not make sense in a web format, are technical reports and reviews created for research purposes. By choosing html whenever possible, we have created a site that is accessible to a greater number of readers. Providing information in a separate webpage allows all platform users to access information. When information was also liable to be wanted for print, a separate pdf version was supplied. The Archived Documents Page The archived documents page is a particular accomplishment of the in-house design team. Documents open in a series of horizontal frames, set up to function similarly to the Mac OSX operating system, in which panes open to present scrollable

7 folders and their contents, providing readers with an effective and simple method of accessing documents. When the reader clicks on a document, a miniature version appears, along with a summary of the contents, category, the creator and date written. Far superior to a traditional document library, this system allows viewers to quickly access archived information on the project s history and thus promotes transparent engagement with the public. Defining Excellence Public Feedback & Public Accountability By creating a separate section for public input and media in the website, we underlined the CRD s commitment to open, transparent communication with CRD residents and media. In a project with as much scope and reach as wastewater treatment, it was of paramount importance to foster trust. The public input section also acts as an information venue for upcoming events such as public consultation or education sessions. By using the web for this purpose, we can more cost-effectively reach the public; the website is an integral part of the communications strategy. This notion is reinforced as the public comes to recognize the site as one that is continuously updated, and which is a reliable source. The site is linked from the main CRD website on the front page. The website s url is used in advertising, media releases and other communications. The new site vastly improves the efficiency of communications with residents, and also contains a variety of links to additional information, such as glossaries, outside links and documents. By keeping information online, we reduce the need for paper, thereby acting in a fiscally responsible and environmentally sustainable way. Creating an Awareness of Local Government Wastewater Made Clear was developed in part to create a strong awareness of the CRD as local government in the region, and to provide residents with a way to connect with their government. The website helps promote accountability and communication through the presentation of a new, dynamic design and presentation of a variety of communication methods for the public. While the site has only been live for a month, both residents and CRD staff have commented on the cohesiveness and attractiveness of the new site, its ease of navigation and the depth of information it provides. Improved Efficiency & Cost-effectiveness The new site is used as one of the main communication tools for the wastewater project.

8 Wastewater Made Clear, Capital Regional District Landing/Index Page The landing page is updated frequently to reflect changing information.

9 Wastewater Made Clear, Capital Regional District Engineering Page, Wastewater Treatment in the CRD

10 Wastewater Made Clear Website Page Views Jun-07 Jul-07 Aug-07 Sep-07 Oct-07 Nov-07 Dec-07 Jan-08 Feb-08 Mar-08 Apr-08 May-08 Jun-08 Month-Year Page Views per Day