You can probably guess that I was just in New Orleans for WEFTEC where everyone’s always yelling "WHO DAT?" I haven’t actually made it home yet. I am literally calling this one in from the airport in Chicago. Chicago you ask? A long story of delayed departures, missed connections and ridiculous rerouting. But this is conference season. My thanks to everyone in ACWWA for the wonderful hospitality in Moncton. Then it was straight to New Orleans for WEFTEC, WEF Government Affairs Committee, the Canadian Affairs Council and work with the Canadian Trade Commission. Next week it’s Brisbane, Australia for the IWA World Water Congress as we try to attract this international event to Toronto in 2022.

CWWA along with international partners have issued a statement on flushability and flushable products.The statement outlines what should be flushed, and asks for clear and concise labelling on all non-flushable products.

CWWA responded to proposed changes to the NPRI reporting for PAHs. The proposed changes to PAH reporting includes reducing the threshold for some substances, such as naphthalene, and moving them from Part 1 A to Part 2 of the NPRI substances lists, as well as removal of the 5 kg threshold for individual PAHs if the 50 kg release threshold for total PAHs is triggered. If applicable, these changes will impact facilities that report to NPRI, including increased reporting and administrative requirements for other programs that use the NPRI platform.

CWWA and our Drinking Water Quality Committee have reviewed the new proposed Guidance documents for both PFOS and PFOA and provided Health Canada with comments.

Does your municipality or corporation have a short educational film or video that inspires viewers to appreciate and care for our water resources and systems? We want to show it at our National Water & Wastewater Conference, November 13-16 in Toronto.

With a conference theme of "Putting Water on Centre Stage," we want to share your local efforts with colleagues from coast to coast. We’re looking for videos on topics like water conservation, stormwater management, what not to flush, or outreach on infrastructure projects.

All too often water and wastewater services are forgotten or taken for granted. We need to keep water issues centre stage, not only to ensure adequate funding, but to influence public attitudes, to encourage researchers and to push the boundaries of technology and science.

Article by Helen Clay-Chapman, a Director at YOULEARNWATER LTD, August 2016


It was 16:00 hours on a Friday afternoon in mid-August when the phone call came in reporting four confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis. I had a decision to make. Do I press the button and instigate an immediate response or ignore it? Was four sufficient to warrant a response? Well I pressed the button and the rest is history... Devon, England 1995.

Sadly, we say goodbye to our colleague and friend Gord Martel. Gord was the CEO of the Pembina Valley Water Cooperative in Manitoba and a great supporter of the CWWA. Gord lost his battle to cancer at home on August 21st although he continued to work until almost the end. He was a passionate advocate for safe and affordable water. He was just 62. A celebration of his life was held August 25th. Donations in memory of Gord may still be made to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Last month Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, posted Terms of Reference for the Expert Panel tasked with reviewing the environmental assessment (EA) process.
Consultations are scheduled to begin this month. Dates and locations will be announced shortly.

During the EA process review, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and the National Energy Board will continue to conduct environmental assessments of projects subject to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012.

Public Safety Canada announced, August 16, 2016, consultations on measures to protect critical infrastructure from cyber threats. The consultations are designed to provide a venue for experts, academics, business leaders, and provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to impart their knowledge and insights. The engagement process consists of an online, interactive consultation. Comment deadline is October 15, 2016.

Canada will host World Environment Day in 2017. The UN Environment-led global event, the single largest celebration of our environment each year, takes place on June 5 and is celebrated by thousands of communities worldwide. Canada will use World Environment Day to showcase to the world the beauty of its natural environment on land and water.

Ontario’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) recently posted proposed updates to Ontario’s Drinking Water Quality Standards. The updates address school and day nursery drinking water systems; drinking water testing services; and drinking water operator certification. Several of the amendments will introduce sampling and testing requirements for facilities and implement corrective measures if lead contamination is a problem.

The changes will require amending several supporting pieces of legislation

The Government of British Columbia released its Climate Leadership Plan, which, it claims, has the potential to reduce net annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 25 million tonnes below current forecasts by 2050.

The governments of Canada and Ontario are making investments that will help create jobs and grow the middle class now while building a strong foundation for a sustainable economic future.

Sapphire Water International has over 70 years of combined experience in potable and wastewater treatment. Sapphire Water has successfully deployed state of the art water treatments systems in municipal, rural and remote locations as well as in unique industrial sites and applications across Canada. Sapphire Water designs, builds and commissions these systems using the most advanced water treatment components. Sapphire Water has also developed advanced biological filtration systems that can transform extremely poor source water into potable water that meets or beats all national and international standards. Our fully integrated manufacturing capabilities allow us to manufacture what you need, get it to where you need it, and do it on budget and on time.

Ottawa, ON. October 13, 2016, 1:00 PM - 4 PM

CWWA, the City of Ottawa and Risk Sciences International are happy to be hosting a free half-day workshop designed to provide participants with an overview of the climate change information requirements and challenges associated with infrastructure vulnerability assessment. In-session discussions will also consider the eventual role of current and future climate monitoring and data initiatives for helping to improve the rigor of climate and infrastructure vulnerability assessment.

TPO Magazine
A newly organized brewing competition in Arizona is making waves because of its key ingredient: reclaimed wastewater. In a YouTube video, Pima County Wastewater has challenged the state’s breweries to partner with wastewater treatment plants in an effort to conserve water.

Water Online
Levels of a widely used class of industrial chemicals linked with cancer and other health problems — polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) — exceed federally recommended safety levels in public drinking-water supplies for 6 million people in the United States, according to a new study led by researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).

Water Online
Federal authorities have opened a probe into a death at a wastewater facility in New Mexico. After working for the small village of Ruidoso for three decades, John Ramos died on July 13 at the Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, according to the Associated Press. He was "manager of the plant when he retired in 2008, but returned to work two years later as the plant operator/lab technician operator," Ruidoso News reported.

Water Online
A project of the California-Israel Global Innovation Partnership, Financial Models for Water Sustainability is a report developed by the Financial Innovations Lab™, a one-day seminar featuring 70 water experts. Researchers from the Lab drew on the experience of Israel — a water-scarce, drought-prone country that has evolved into a world leader in water technology — to create a sustainability game plan for California and others to follow.

Water Online
The Legislature recently passed and sent to the governor a bill (SB 1425, Pavley) that would create a voluntary registry to track the heat-trapping pollution of California water users — primarily water suppliers and wastewater treatment facilities. The bill, which is sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), is needed because the water sector consumes nearly 20 percent of California’s electricity, a number that is likely to grow as the extended drought further stresses water supplies and the electricity grid, according to UCS.

Water Online
In what appears to be a first-time discovery, researchers found a drug-resistant "superbug" in the drinking water in a developed country. The discovery of antibiotic-resistant E. coli bacteria in water samples from France highlights "the presence of expanding reservoirs of these resistance genes, including reservoirs in the environment," according to a news release.

AWWA Connections
It’s been nine months since the largest ocean desalination plant in the Americas opened along picture-perfect beach front property 35 miles north of San Diego. Since its debut, the 54 MGD plant has produced more than 11 billion gallons of water and prompted state regulators to declare the supply of potable water from the plant as drought-resilient, thereby reducing the region’s reliance on other water sources.

Water Canada
The Ministry of Natural Resources confirms that an Asian Carp was caught in Lake Erie, west of Point Pelee.
The fish caught by a commercial net was a grass carp, a member of the Asian carp family. A few similar grass carps were previously found on the U.S. side near Monroe, Michigan and Sandusky (can you say when?). The Windsor Star reported that the grass carp found near Point Pelee was 94.5-cm in length and weighed 10 kg.

Water Canada
Quebec-based H2O Innovation has announced the release of the new a new membrane bioreactor technology for advanced wastewater treatment applications. The new technology provides greater flexibility within membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems allowing owners and engineers to choose between multiple membrane products for the same system at build time or in the future.

ForesterMagazines
Millions of dollars are being lost by wastewater utilities in their effort to address a growing problem: so-called flushable wipes and other products that are not breaking down easily in the sewer system. Those millions of dollars wasted on a problem that is avoidable comes on the heels of a recession and the challenges presented by an aging infrastructure

Water Online
City leaders in Fresno, CA, voted last week to join a growing number of California cities banning the use of galvanized pipe for plumbing in new constructions over concerns about lead in drinking water.

Water Online
Water operators in Wichita Falls, TX, are using a three-pronged chemical treatment to tackle an odor problem that has stirred up complaints from customers. Daniel Nix, utilities operation manager for the city, said the water is safe to drink even though it smells bad, according to the Times Record News.

TPO
As housing developments closed in on the once remote Georgetown Wastewater Treatment Plant, odor control became even more important. Find out how a grit tank cover solved the problem.

Water Canada
The governments of Canada and Northwest Territories announced an agreement for joint investment of $68 million for water and wastewater projects across the Territory. The federal government is providing over $51 million and community governments of the Northwest Territories are providing over $17 million for 29 projects to rehabilitate and improve the community water and wastewater systems across the territory.

Water Canada
The governments of Canada and Nunavut announced a bilateral agreement that will make more than $48 million in combined funding available to Nunavut communities under the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund. The Government of Canada is providing over $36 million for three projects to rehabilitate and improve the community water and wastewater systems in the territory. The Government of Nunavut and communities are also providing over $12 million for these projects.

Water Canada
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has voiced its opposition of plans to upgrade the City of Portage la Prairie’s wastewater treatment facility in utilizing a public-private partnership model.