Canada’s relationship with the US has always been the most unique and the most important international friendship.  For CWWA, our US relationships play such a big part in who we are at CWWA and an important part in what we do.  We are a completely independent corporation, as is WEF, AWWA and NACWA.  But we all have guiding MOU’s with each other to enshrine our cooperation and we have become effective partners on so many fronts regarding advocacy, the value of water, and utility leadership. I always like to quote Hermie from the Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer special when he suggests to Rudolph, “Let’s be independent…together.”  

With the upcoming federal election, scheduled for October 21, government initiatives and programs are mostly on pause as the focus moves to campaigning.

Reminder: Environment and Climate Change Canada's new Environmental Emergency (E2) Regulations formally took effect on August 24, 2019. According to Emergency Response Assistance Canada (ERAC) , “information previously submitted to Environment and Climate Change Canada will not be transferred to the new reporting system as the Regulations contain different requirements.

The Bank of Montreal has decided to exit the majority of its business that provides insurance to insurers, saying climate change is at least partly to blame. Companies worldwide are grappling with similar issues. In May, the Bank of Canada identified climate change as one of the key vulnerabilities for the financial system, saying it posed “physical risks from disruptive weather events and transition risks from adapting to a lower-carbon global economy.”

In March 2018, as part of its modernization agenda, Statistics Canada launched a 12-month pilot project in five large urban centres (Halifax, Montréal, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver) to collect and test municipal wastewater samples at treatment plant intake for traces of cannabis and a dozen other drugs.

CWWA’s Executive Director was interviewed when the survey results were released. He noted that the survey results were based on water at the intake to the wastewater treatment and more work needs to be done to determine how much of these drugs and their metabolites are successfully removed by wastewater treatment. Studying the impacts of these trace contaminants in the environment is at its beginnings. The study results, while interesting, provide more data on drug use in major cities than on the environment.

On August 15, 2019, the federal government launched Canada’s newest climate data portal: ClimateData.ca. The website provides engineers, and anyone else doing long-term planning, with user-friendly climate change information, data, resources and tools. 

Water Canada

Seamus O’Regan, minister of indigenous services, has provided an update for August 2019 on the government’s commitment to end long-term drinking water advisories.

In August 2019, three short-term drinking water advisories at risk of becoming long-term were lifted from public systems on reserves.

We're excited to announce the closing keynote presentation from Bob Sandford,EPCOR Chair in Water and Climate Security at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health.  This presentation explores how we came to underestimate how soon climate disruption would dangerously impact humanity. It will also outline what we know now about how fast nature can change; and what we can do to slow and moderate climate and related impacts where we have the most power to do so: in the communities in which we live.

The 2018-2019 annual report for FCM’s Green Municipal Fund (GMF) showcases how GMF training, resources and funding fuel municipal sustainability initiatives that deliver environmental and economic benefits and build better lives for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. The report shares stories of several highly successful local sustainability projects, and details how much GMF-funded initiatives have contributed to cleaner air and water, reduced waste, increased energy efficiency and improved infrastructure throughout the country.  

NACWA and its public member agencies are concerned about plastic products that are flushed into the sewer system or washed into stormwater systems.  Larger plastic objects can lead to clogging and other equipment problems and must be removed from wastewater and stormwater systems.  Microplastics or plastic microfibers may pass through treatment plants and cause harm to the aquatic environment. 

NACWA recently provided input August 27 to Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif) on planned legislation to address plastic pollution with a broad range of measures

CBC News

The ground in some spots of the Central Valley is sinking up to 60 centimetres per year, expert says

Jim Williams, president of the American Water Works Association (AWWA), describes working in the water sector as a “vocation of distinction.”

To support successful careers in this vocation, AWWA and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) have launched a newly-updated website that offers helpful resources for students and those seeking jobs, including veterans.

Water Canada

Plastics in our waste streams are breaking down into tiny particles and causing potentially catastrophic consequences for human health and our aquatic systems, according to new research from the University of Surrey and Deakin’s Institute for Frontier Materials.

New York Times

Along the coast of the United States, people who lost homes to Hurricane Dorian are preparing to rebuild. But Canada — which has faced devastating flooding of its own — is testing a very different idea of disaster recovery: Forcing people to move.

Water Canada

Canada’s minister of public services and procurement and accessibility, Carla Qualtrough, announced that two businesses based in British Columbia (B.C.) are each receiving a grant from Fisheries and Oceans Canada for their innovative solutions to minimize plastic pollution.

CBC News

In Canada's largest city, raw sewage flows into Lake Ontario so often, Toronto tells people they should never swim off the city's beaches for least two days after it rains.

Across the country in Mission, B.C., a three-decade-old pipe that carries sewage under the Fraser River to a treatment plant in Abbotsford is so loaded operators can't even slip a camera inside it to look for damage. If that pipe bursts, it will dump 11 million litres of putrid water from area homes and businesses into a critical salmon habitat every day it isn't fixed.

Automate billing and control of your bulk water dispensing and waste water receiving sites

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UCalgary offers students a high-quality educational experience that prepares them for success in life, as well as research that addresses society’s most persistent challenges. 

Waste 'n WaterTech Ltd. is Western Canada's Leader in water and wastewater treatment equipment representing high end, state-of-the-art equipment manufacturers from Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia.

We are privileged to exclusively represent these outstanding products from Thunder Bay, Ontario west to the Pacific and north to the Arctic Oceans.With offices in Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia, our perpetual growth and incessant penetration into the municipal marketplace is escalating into the industrial, mining and agricultural sectors.