Water Haller: Never Let A Good Disaster Go To Waste!
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"Never let a good disaster go to waste!” We say this a lot in our industry and it is a very wise saying. Of course, if it is ‘your’ disaster happening to ‘you,’ you can’t help but learn from the experience…why did it happen? Could it have been prevented? Can we prevent it from happening again? But does the disaster have to happen to you in order to learn from it?
At a recent CWWA Board meeting, we were discussing our efforts to advocate for more infrastructure funding from the federal government through a renewed Canada Infrastructure Plan (or whatever program name they choose). While the federal focus seems to be fixated on housing, how do we get them to recognize the state of our water/wastewater infrastructure and the need to address aging infrastructure that may not be directly related to ‘new’ housing. That’s when one board member cleverly said, "If only there was an example of a major infrastructure failure in a major Canadian city that could catch national attention.” We all got the reference – Calgary. In fact, I was already in that mindset. National media have been reaching out to CWWA and several water leaders across Canada to ask, "Could this happen elsewhere in Canada?" And there is my opening to discuss the critical importance of reliable water/wastewater systems, the challenges of aging infrastructure, asset management, priority setting, underfunded utilities, water rates, and federal-provincial grants tied to the political trend of the year (climate change or housing). We have repeatedly advanced these arguments to the federal government and to the general public, but an infrastructure failure at the scale of the Calgary situation clearly drives home our point. All sympathies go to our colleagues working at Calgary Water, and to all their residents facing this challenge as a community, but we might as well all use this situation as an opportunity to discuss our shared challenges and the critical nature of our service. Communities cannot exist without safe water supply and efficient wastewater systems – homes, businesses, industries, hospitals, etc. Now is the time to discuss community priorities – like arenas or WiFi vs. water. Now is the time to discuss the cost of deferring replacement and how waiting for failure is far more disruptive and costly than planned replacement.
This argument also holds true when discussing cyber security in our industry. We have all heard about cyber attacks, ransomware, and even deep hacks that have taken control of SCADA systems and tried to mess with the chemical operations. Do we have to wait until it happens to us in order to learn from these events, or can we take preventative steps before they come to our town? As I write this column, I am preparing for the Window on Ottawa webinar on Cyber Security. Several years ago, I sat on a national roundtable on cyber security and threats to all critical infrastructure. Since then, CWWA has worked with Public Safety Canada (PSC), Dalhousie University, Deloitte and now the Canada Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) to develop the tools we need to protect our systems. PSC and CCCS now have a suite of tools, training and checklists specifically created for our water sector and I cannot urge you enough to take advantage of these supports and to implement them at your utility now – before you have to learn the hard way.
The World Water Congress & Exhibition
Just six weeks until Canada hosts this IWA’s World Water Congress & Exhibition. The program is fascinating and you can still get registered as a full delegate. But if you just want to drop in and visit the Exhibition Hall…it is FREE! You just need to register quickly online. This is a rare opportunity when a global event of this level comes here to Canada – so don’t miss it. If you are thinking of coming from outside of the GTA, book your hotel from the website NOW, or at least before July 5, when the prices will jump dramatically.
Check it all out at: IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition – Shaping our water future
