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).

One of the main reasons the CWWA exists is to represent the water and wastewater utility sector and to be your voice at the federal level. We certainly have been taking on that role, but apparently we’ve been very weak about telling anyone what we’re doing. The members survey we conducted last fall asked you what you knew of our efforts ...and the scores were very low for awareness of our advocacy efforts. So, we are going to try to provide a more regular update here in the e-Bulletin.

CWWA would like to thank all our sponsors, exhibitors and partners who helped support the National Water and Wastewater Conference. Your support is integral in building a successful event.

Save the date for the 2017 Window on Ottawa and National Water and Wastewater Conference.

The upcoming federal budget can improve Canadians' quality of life for years to come - if it empowers municipalities to connect national infrastructure investment to pressing local needs. That's the message from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) today as it releases Seizing the Moment, its recommendations for the 2017 federal budget.

Environment Canada has released a request for information regarding an extensive list of substances (approximately 1500 chemicals and polymers) under the Chemical Management Plan. The requested information will be used to determine if any of the substances are toxic or capable of becoming toxic and regulatory or control measure if necessary.

As a result of recent events, communities and municipalities across Canada are requesting more information on the nature and volume of dangerous goods being transported within their jurisdictions. In order to respond to these concerns, Transport Canada’s Transportation of Dangerous Goods Directorate has put together a kit containing safety awareness material designed to assist municipal administrators as well as emergency planners.

The Department of the Environment and the Department of Health published in the December 17, 2016, edition of Canada Gazette Part I a notice announcing the findings of its screening assessment of chloral hydrate.

Chloral hydrate is formed as a disinfection by product in chlorinated drinking. It is also an active ingredient in prescription drugs used as sedatives and hypnotics, a medicinal ingredient in natural health products licensed as homeopathic medicines, and an intermediate for industrial metal plating.

The screening assessment concluded that it is not a threat to human or environmental health, and the government will be taking no action to regulate it.

On December 15, 2016, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) issued a Draft Scientific Criteria Document for Canadian Soil Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Environmental and Human Health - Zinc. Zinc is an essential element for plant and animal life that is naturally present and found widely in nature. The largest natural source to the atmosphere is wind-blown dust, although emissions from sea-salt spray may also be significant, particularly in
coastal regions.

The Third Edition of Procedures to Investigate Waterborne Illness has just been published by the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP).

This book provides readers with a series of in-depth case studies of leading developed cities, of differing climates, incomes and lifestyles from around the world, that have used demand management tools to modify the attitudes and behavior of water users in an attempt to achieve urban water security.

The Government of Canada’s 10 year, $180 billion infrastructure plan presents an unparalleled opportunity to chart the course for Canada’s next generation of urban water infrastructure. According to the 2016 Canadian Municipal Infrastructure Report Card, 35% of the country’s wastewater infrastructure and 29% of drinking water infrastructure is in ‘fair to very poor condition’.

The price tag to address the backlog of repairs and upgrades to municipal water infrastructure in Canada is estimated at $88.5 billion. This report and accompanying policy brief propose a package of recommendations to align water infrastructure investments and regulatory regimes around a vision of sustainability, resilience and innovation. By doing so, we believe that the Government of Canada’s infrastructure plan can play a key role in addressing the backlog of repairs to urban water systems, advance efforts to build sustainable and climate resilient communities, and help Canadian clean water innovators strengthen their position in the $500 billion global water technology and services market.

Communities in Atlantic Canada now have a valuable planning tool that offers enhanced access to specialized information from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) on extreme rainfall events.

Engineers, managers and planners rely on Intensity/Duration/Frequency (IDF) statistics to design roadways, culverts, and other drainage structures that can accommodate heavy rainfall and mitigate its impact on habitats, properties and infrastructure. "Providing enhanced access to the most current IDF data through this new Extreme Precipitation website," notes Rick Fleetwood, Manager of ECCC’s Atlantic Climate Services, "makes it easier and more efficient to use this information for engineering designs."

Ontario has published several amenments related to drinking water quality standards, lead in schools and day nurseries: drinking water systems; drinking water testing services; and drinking water operator certification.

Bill 122, An Act mainly to recognize that municipalities are local governments and to increase their autonomy and powers was introduced by Mr. Martin Coiteux, Minister of Municipal Minister of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy on December 6, 2016.

On December 12, just as the last session of 2016 wrapped up, the legislative assembly of Alberta passed a motion to increase the government’s involvement in managing the province’s headwater region.

The status of Tier 1 and Tier 2 chemicals in the Great Lakes Basin under the Canada-Ontario Agreement provides information on the current trends of the chemical in the Great Lakes Basin over time, related to its use, release and environmental concentrations in ambient air, surface water, sediment, fish and Herring Gull eggs. A summary of current and past risk management actions, research, monitoring and surveillance activities for these chemicals that the Ontario provincial government and the Canadian federal government have undertaken is also provided.

As energy, communications and continuous innovation are all inextricably linked with our lives today, modern communication and utility networks will play a vital role in the creation of our future society.

Filoform’s mission is to assist you in planning for this opportunity now and to provide you with the best solutions, applications and products to protect your investment in the future.

This future includes:
- The development of highly efficient and smart energy grids with which the end user has a relationship - both as a buyer and seller of energy.
- The creation of decentralized energy production systems to meet local demand for electric mobility.
- The utilization of new, safer and sustainable energy sources like wind and solar power.
- Changing the way in which we work by planning and developing high data capacity fibre optic networks and different types of mobile communications networks.

Bio Pro Distributions Limited is a company dedicated to bringing only the best biological waste water treatment products to all of Canada. Our product range helps Canadian business from Municipal, Government, Agriculture, Commercial, Retail to Home Owners; supplying NSF Certified products that digest 100% of all dead organic waste and are 100% harmless to all living organisms.

Treatment Plant Operator Magazine

Four workers resigned from a wastewater treatment plant in Apopka, Florida, saying they had concerns about their health and safety.

Water Online Magazine

The water industry needs no convincing that it plays a critical role in shaping how communities develop. Water that a plentiful, accessibly and available at a usable quality is at the core of stable public health as well as the production of goods and services which build economies that form the social and cultural fabrics of a society. Water, is therefore, the resource of life.

Toronto Star

Carrying waste water, sewage and everything in between, more than 11,000 kilometres of sewers lie beneath Toronto’s surface, a snaking network that shuttles millions of litres of liquids to treatment plants, storage tanks or straight out to Lake Ontario every day.

Here’s a look at the system essential to keeping the city sanitary and (mostly) dry, but rarely seen by the millions it services.