What's New

A common misconception is that your membership dues include your individual certification fee. This is not so....

BOTH, membership dues AND your individual certification fee must be paid for your certifications to remain active.

As of January 31, 2018 all certifications that have outstanding fees have been downgraded to INACTIVE and are now not searchable on our website.

For those that hold only technician certifications, your certification fee is $25 (plus gst).

For those that hold designer certifications, your certification fee is $50 (plus gst). 

*Only 1 fee per person for the highest certification held*

You must log in to: www.irrigationbc.com to pay your certification fee. Your username will be the email address you provided to us. You may hit “forgot login” on the home page to reset your password if you have forgotten it.

For further printable instructions on how to pay your certification fee Click Here

The IIABC certification program has been operating since 1986, that is 30 years.  The program started with a handful of members obtaining their agriculture irrigation certification, mainly to assist in getting plans approved through a government loan program.  It was easy to track and did not take much time for the IIABC to manage.  However times change and the IIABC Certification Program now encompasses many types of design certifications (CID) as well as technician certification (CIT).  We are now approaching 1000 certified individuals.  How we managed the Certification Program in the past does not work well moving forward.

Many local governments, landscape architects and other clients now put the IIABC standards into their specifications. The HEIS system is another tool that is starting to be used. (See related article in this newsletter). The Certification Board is concerned that while we have many individuals seeking certification, many are not doing much to maintain their credentials once certification has been achieved.   This is not sustainable and does not foster credibility when the program is looked at from outsiders.  Every other certifying organization has implemented Continuing Education Units (CEU’s). It is the only way to verify that certified individuals make an attempt to keep up with changes in their industry.

Currently a paper file is kept for all members that are certified by the IIABC. These files are important and they provide the current status and history of the individual’s exams and certifications. To make this system more manageable, all of these files have now been scanned and converted into an electronic version as well. This has been done mainly for security reasons as should the files be damaged or lost there is no backup. It has taken quite an effort to scan the existing files. Moving forward it will also take more effort to scan all new certifications. However, an electronic system is the right way to go.  

Tracking certifications has become cumbersome, mainly because we put the onus on the company to provide us with the names of their employees that are certified. Quite often an employee will have left and moved to another company, or leave the industry entirely and the office will not have been able to update the files. The Certification Board would like to put the onus on the individual to maintain their certification status. This will require every certified individual to have an email registered with the IIABC. They will then be able to log into their own account, enter their CEU’s and conduct any other business as required.  Further information will be provided in future newsletters on how CEU’s can be earned. There will also be opportunity to discuss the direction and process at the AGM this fall.

Taking on these new initiatives is not possible in the long term with the current funding obtained from membership dues, course and certification application fees. The Certification Board has therefore asked the Board of Directors to implement an annual certification fee. The Board of Directors has accepted this request and the new fee will be implemented for 2018. The certification fee invoice will be sent to each certified individual be email. Only one fee will need to be paid.  For a certified technician it will be $25.00 annually. For a Certified designer it will be $50.00 annually.  A person holding more than one certification will only pay one fee, for example if a person holds a CIT and a CID the fee would be $50.00.  A company may wish to pay the certification fee for their employees but it will be the employee’s responsibility to make sure that the IIABC office has received the payment.

The Certification Fee will help to offset the following costs being absorbed by the IIABC.

• Scanning all certification files
• Developing and maintaining an online CEU system
• Hiring a temporary staff person to ensure CEU’s have been entered and the Certification Fee has been paid.

The Certification Board hopes that the membership will understand the need to move the program forward and take these steps to ensure the integrity, compliance and professionalism of our program.

Members can certainly contact members of the Certification Board or the Board of Directors on the direction being taken.  

Water Stewardship Forum 1
Wednesday, November 22^nd / 10:15-Noon 

SPONSOR: Golder Associates / FACILITATOR: TBD

• Exploring Indigenous Water Law (Oliver Brandes & Rosie Simms, POLIS; Deborah Curran & Val Napoleon, UVic) 20 mins
• Making Informed Watershed Decisions: The Need for Quality Data (Suzan Lapp, Climaterra Consulting Ltd.) 15 mins
• Diving Into the Marine Plan Partnership for the North Pacific Coast (Tentative) 10 mins 
• Q&A 10 mins
• Fighting Invasive Species with the ‘Don’t Move a Mussel Campaign’ (James Littley, Okanagan Basin Water Board) 10 mins
• Understanding the Dollars & Sense of Protecting Peatlands (Eliza Olson, Burns Bog Conservation Society) 10 mins
• Preserving Invaluable Shorelines Through Education, Planning & Design (DG Blair, Stewardship Centre for BC) 10 mins
• Q&A 15 mins 

Water Stewardship Forum 2
Wednesday, November 22^nd / 2:30-4:30 

SPONSOR: TBD / FACILITATOR: TBD (Would IIABD consider sponsoring this session? Any other ideas for sponsors?)

• Comparing Apples to Oranges: Lessons for BC from California’s Drought & Water Law Reform (Oliver Brandes & Rosie Simms, POLIS Project) 20 mins
• Using Indigenous Knowledge to Inform Watershed Management Planning (Lisa Wilson, Okanagan Nation Alliance) 10 mins 
• Exploring the Evolution & Successes of Sponge Cities (Ramin Seifi, Township of Langley) 10 mins
• Q&A 10 mins
• Interweaving Science & Spirit Through the Blue Ecology Model (Michael Blackstock, Blue Ecology Model Founder) 10 mins
• Introducing a Solar Aquatics Water Reclamation Centre (Colleen Hannigan, District of Barriere) 10 mins
• Celebrating the Social Life of Water (Christine Mettler, Canadian Fresh Water Alliance) 10 mins
• Exploring Trends in Residential Irrigation Efficiency (Shauna Burnell, Waterkind Irrigation Consulting) 10 mins
• Sponsor slot 10 mins
• Q&A 15 mins

OTHER WATER-RELATED PRESENTATIONS: (Nov 22/23)

• Reviewing the Health Impacts of Climate Change on Food & Water (Interior Health)
• The Last Straw: Exposing the Growing Swell of Plastic Pollution in Ocean Environments (Jan Vozenilek, Copper Sky Productions & Ryan Cope, Fresh Outlook Foundation)
• Collaborating for Successful Watershed Change (Melissa Dick, Coquitlam River Watershed Roundtable)
• Safeguarding Coastal Shorelines with Proactive Legal Solutions (Deborah Carlson, West Coast Environmental Law)

• Collaborating to Enrich Mission Creek’s Historical, Ecological & Recreational Values (Todd Cashin, City of Kelowna)

First launched in 2005, Smart Irrigation Month is gaining traction as stakeholders recognize the positive impact efficient irrigation and water use provides.
 
Focused on July, this campaign provides a unified marketing platform and is designed to:

• Educate businesses, homeowners, growers/producers and other users about efficient water use.
• Encourage industry firms and professionals to promote smart irrigation practices and technologies.
• Position your organization as a leader in smart water stewardship.

Take part by educating yourself in ways you can help participate in Smart Irrigation Month this July and all through the year with a few of these simple tips! 

How to Hire a Reliable, Certified Irrigation Professional 

How to Water Smart & Save Money This Summer  

Complement Your Smart Irrigation System with Sustainable Solutions

Plant Right - Simple Changes to Save You Money

The Board has been made aware of several problems arising from the lack of Certified Irrigation Contractors in many regions.  In one case the municipality is contemplating removing the CIC requirement from their bylaws as there is an insufficient number of contractors that can bid on jobs.  This same problem is being experience in other locations.  To have a vibrant CIC program we need to be able to increase capacity, while at the same time keeping the integrity of the program in place.  Unless changes are made the CIC program would become irrelevant.

The biggest obstacle to obtaining the CIC status is the requirement of having a Certified Irrigation Designer on staff.  Companies lose their CIC status when their CID retires or changes companies and they find this requirement difficult to fill in the short term.  This results in the company losing their CIC status which again is something we wish to avoid.

The Certification Board has discussed this issue and has passed a motion that allows companies to source out the CID requirement.  All of the other criteria must still be met by the company.  Companies that are candidates for CIC status can source out a maximum of two individuals that can provide the CID services to their company.  The must obtain a signed statement from that individual indicating that they will provide the required services to the company.  This signed form must be submitted to the IIABC along with the other documentation.  The company can also seek one alternate CID who must also provide a signed statement.  If the company has complied with all of the other criteria, a signed statement from a CID offering their services to that company will be sufficient to obtain CIC status.

This of course raises the question of what about the existing CIC that are listed with the IIABC and have fulfilled all of the requirements including having a CID on staff.  Existing companies and future CIC’s that have a CID on staff will be considered to have premium CIC status.  The Board is implementing a CIC – GSC (Gold Seal Contractor) status.  The contractor will be able to advertise as such and the IIABC will also acknowledge those contactors on their website.

The Board feels that not only will this option have the ability to strengthen the number of CIC contractors in British Columbia it will also strengthen the Certified Irrigation Designer program, as those individuals that obtain CID status will see an opportunity to apply their trade.

Comments to the Certification Board are certainly welcome.  A listing of Board members and contact info can be found under the Contact Us tab.