2017 is here and we are expecting this to be a big year. You will get a lot more details by reading the CWWA Advocacy section of this e-Bulletin.  

We await the announcements for Phase 2 of the federal Infrastructure Plan and how the "Green Infrastructure" funds will be targeted. We will share all information with our members as soon as we know anything and will be working to ensure you are informed on how to access these funds. The same is true for the Community Capacity Building funds and programs to be provided through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).

Building our relationships with other associations in Canada is a high priority for us. We have been working closely with groups such as the Canadian Association for Water Quality (CAWQ), Canadian Water Network (CWN), Canadian Water Resources Association (CWRA), Canadian Public Works Association (CPWA) and, of course, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), AWWWA and WEF in Canada. We are starting with cooperation toward one national position on lead in the wake of the Flint crisis.

While the issue of flushable wipes may have scored lower as a priority in our membership survey, we still have some work to continue on this front. Sadly, our efforts to develop a voluntary standard with the wipes manufacturers has failed as has our efforts to develop an international (ISO) standard.  As the next step, CWWA is playing a lead role in developing a an international wastewater industry standard – developed by our wastewater experts.

Meanwhile, we are getting right into the real work of our national survey on utility resilience. This is the project we have been cooperating with Public Safety Canada and Dalhousie University. Remember, we are counting on your participation with the researchers.

We are in the initial stages of another joint project with CWN and FCM toward infrastructure research toward providing our members with som solid guidance documents. We’ll keep you posted.

Finally, our internal staff goal is to revitalize our CWWA website. We really want this to be an accessible resource site that our members will go to first for national reports and relevant research, as well as the best national calendar.  As part of the website, we want to promote greater networking and dialogue among our members on critical topics. Keep an an eye on us!