You should attend the Window on Ottawa. You will learn a LOT of important information that can benefit your municipality – not about what HAS happened, but about what is coming down the pike (I prefer to say coming down the ‘pipe’).  The Window on Ottawa is core to the mission of CWWA.  There. I am supposed to get to the point of my article in the first sentence or two. Done.

CWWA’s Window on Ottawa is our core event. This is YOUR window into the activities of the federal government. The Window on Ottawa provides a unique opportunity to hear about new and upcoming federal legislation and initiatives that will impact the sector.

In January, the Government released its Draft 2019–2022 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy for public consultation. Comment deadline: April 2, 2019.

Canada is considering expanding its use of cumulative assessments of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) including phthalates, PFAS, fire retardants and lead under a broader post-2020 risk assessment framework, according to reports following stakeholder meetings held in Ottawa on November 26-29, 2018.

In order to build a Conference program that maximizes our diverse delegates and to create a program that will interest everybody we need YOU to share your ideas, concepts, experience and research. We’re planning sessions that will cross all sectors of our industry and connect all of our delegates, but we’ll also feature sessions that will focus on national issues that will appeal to you and your professioal focus.

Submit by March 15, 2019

Just what we’ve all been waiting for….a colouring book to teach children what they can and cannot put down a toilet.

Following from the comic strip success of “The Adventures of Fatberg”, illustrator and story writer Nathan Wright has released a colouring book titled, KEEP YOUR TOILETS HAPPY.  The new book is available to all of us to support our municipal education campaigns. 

Following the devastating hurricanes that ravaged the Caribbean, CWWA was called upon to support efforts to restore damaged water and wastewater systems.  Together, we raised donations at our national conference in St. John’s to help send  Canadian operators down to Domenica.  Another $3,000 was raised from our members at the national conference in Montreal last November and these funds helped get 4 more operators down to Belize this month.

Researchers from the University of Alberta are seeking information on seeking information on water reuse & stormwater use projects in Canada. They are looking specifically for municipal case studies and projects.

After much criticism, on January 23, 2019, Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark axed schedule 10 of Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018. The schedule would have amended the Planning Act to allow municipalities to bypass existing development requirements and restrictions for companies promising to create 50 or more jobs.

 Other proposals in Bill 66 remain. Among them proposals that would, if passed, amend and repeal provisions in a number of acts, including the repeal of the Toxics Reduction Act, 2009 and all associated regulations by December 31, 2021.

 Consideration of the Bill 66 is expected to continue when the legislature resumes this month

Cumulative changes recently announced under Bill 66: Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018; Bill 57, Restoring Trust, Transparency and Accountability Act, 2018; and Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018, are squarely aimed at reducing the regulatory burden in specific sectors. A number of specific initiatives likely to impact environmental management have recently been highlighted by the government, among these:

Alberta Climate Change Office issued a reminder to stakeholders that $20m is available under the Climate Change Innovation and Technology Framework (CCITF) to fund projects in the following areas: cleaner oil and gas; methane emissions reduction; low carbon electricity; waste to value-added; green buildings and energy efficiency. Up to $3 million is available per project. Expression of Interest forms are available now, with EOI’s due February 21, 2019. 

Effective February 28, 2019, a new regulation for Agricultural Environmental Management will replace the outdated Agricultural Waste Control Regulation. It will enhance environmental protection measures, allow better compliance and enforcement activities, and make it easier for farmers to establish environmentally sound practices.

On January 25, 2019, the governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador jointly announced that Newfoundland and Labrador will receive over $44 million through the Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund for programs that support the province’s climate action programs. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is matching this funding for a total investment of over $89 million. The federal support will help expand the Home Energy Savings Program and the new Energy Efficiency and Fuel Switching in Public Buildings Program.

Water Canada

Vancouver Island University (VIU) researchers are taking a deeper look at snow packs in unique alpine forested watersheds on northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia (BC), with the aim of using drone technology to fill a science knowledge gap on stream flows.

How did we get to a stage when microplastics have become a ubiquitous issue?

This was one of the questions raised by Dr. Chelsea Rochman, assistant professor at the University of Toronto, at an event hosted by Partners in Project Green (PPG) on Plastics and Other Waste in Our Watersheds. The event took place at the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s (TRCA) head office in Vaughan, Ontario.

Water Canada

A new policy to curb the purchase and use of single-use plastics was announced at an employee town hall by the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.

The Water Network

RUDN chemists have ​developed a ​hybrid ​nanocatalyst ​for quick ​removal of ​stable organic ​dyes from ​wastewater. ​This catalyst ​does not ​require ​additional ​aggressive ​solvents. The ​results of the ​study were ​published in ​Inorganic ​Chemistry. ​

Huber Technologies Wastewater Solutions

As we go about our day in the water treatment profession do you ever stop and consider the uniqueness of our work? Consider sludge for instance. Not many people really give it much thought at all. When they do, it usually conjures up lurking trouble. Try this little exercise: Type in the word “Sludge” on a Google search. Typically first up you will see a definition like “thick, soft, wet mud or a similar viscous mixture of liquid and solid components, especially the product of an industrial or refining process.” The definition goes on to list synonyms such as: “mud, muck, mire, ooze, silt”. Two examples given are: “The channel had become silted up with a layer of sludge”; and “…dirty oil, especially in the sump of an internal combustion engine”. You get the idea.

Water Online

As highlighted in President Trump''s State of the Union address and in support of the President''s Infrastructure Initiative, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has accelerated investment in the nation''s aging water infrastructure.

WEF Highlights

When Valerie Jenkinson heard about the devastation in the small Caribbean nation of Dominica after Hurricane Maria, she was not content to just make a donation. She started an organization that will make a much larger and lasting difference: Operators Without Borders.

Le ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation a pour mission de soutenir l’administration municipale québécoise ainsi que l’aménagement, le développement et l’occupation durables du territoire au bénéfice des citoyens.

The mission of the ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation is to support municipal administration in Québec, as well as the sustainable planning, development and occupation of the territory for the citizens’ benefit. "Translated from the original French".