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CWWA News
I know…it seems no matter how much money the federal government allots for infrastructure programs, it’s not enough. But municipal infrastructure has a limited lifespan, is expensive to replace, and Canada’s tax structure really doesn’t support us to handle it all on our own.    CWWA’s National Water & Wastewater Conference has become Canada’s utility management conference. We still offer the same professional technical program with sessions on almost every aspect of our industry. Meanwhile, we have developed a powerful Utility Leadership stream targeting Canada’s senior water leaders from utilities, academia and the private sector, focused on sustainable water systems.
Federal Initiatives
Among other things, a cruise ship and its authorized representative must not discharge sewage or greywater if the ship is three nautical miles or less from shore, an ice-shelf or fast ice. Other restrictions apply to discharges at more than 3 to 12 nautical miles in which case, specified water treatment and sanitation measures are required. On June 27, 2023, the Government of Canada launched the National Adaptation Strategy. The Strategy lays out an agreed-upon framework to reduce the risk of climate-related disasters, improve health outcomes, protect nature and biodiversity, build and maintain resilient infrastructure, and support a strong economy. It also identifies common goals, objectives, and targets to focus the efforts of governments and communities across these key areas and to help ensure future investments are targeted and effective. In response to the ransomware attacks perpetrated against Newfoundland Health system and Florida Water Treatment Plant, Public Safety Canada in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security developed a number of programs and tools to improve cybersecurity resiliency.
Details on these programs and tools are in the attached info sheet. For questions and comments you can reach out to: The long awaited Canada Water Agency has made big steps towards making meaningful contributions to the safety and protection of Canada’s water. The Agency recently established headquarters in Winnipeg and launched their website. CWWA has been participating in consultations and eagerly awaiting the establishment of the Agency and excited to see progress. The Agency's mandate is to improve freshwater management in Canada by providing leadership, effective collaboration federally, and improved coordination and collaboration with provinces, territories, and Indigenous Peoples to proactively address national and regional transboundary freshwater challenges and opportunities. Member News
NACWA recently shared an update on the class action law suit between 3M and public drinking water systems for alleged drinking water contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). If approved by the court, the settlement would require 3M to pay between $10.5 – 12.5 billion to certain public water systems (PWSs) throughout the country over a 12-year period starting in July 2024.
Provincial News
On June 16, 2023, Ontario’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced that the government is expanding strong mayor powers to the mayors of 26 large and fast-growing municipalities that have committed to a housing pledge as part of the province’s work to build 1.5 million homes by 2031. Twenty-six municipalities will now have strong mayor powers, effective July 1, 2023. This Bill amends The Water Resources Administration Act to provide the government with increased powers to manage water works and protect provincial water infrastructure. Among other things:
Snippings & Clippings
Water Online First COVID-19, then monkeypox, and now polio. Communities across the U.S. are constantly grappling with emerging public health challenges and how to appropriately respond via methods such as vaccine distribution, clinical testing, and wastewater surveillance. The Globe and Mail Plastic pollution is more concentrated in some lakes and reservoirs around the world than in the infamous “garbage patches” of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, according to a study published in the scientific journal Nature on Wednesday. ES&E Magazine Using data from 464 lakes in North and South America, scientists have determined that temperature by itself does not influence the biomass of blue-green algae blooms, and that phosphorus concentration is the more defining factor. ES&E Magazine Canada’s first and largest industrial-scale biochar plant — an $80-million project capable of eventually sequestering 75 thousand tonnes of carbon per year — is set to be built in Port-Cartier, Quebec, in 2024. AP News Prandy Tavarez and his wife were expecting a baby when they bought a four-bedroom house in a well-kept neighborhood of century-old homes here. They got to work making it theirs, ripping off wallpaper, upgrading the electrical and replacing windows coated in paint that contained lead, a potent neurotoxin that can damage brain development in children. Reuters As Thames Water's financial troubles raise questions about such investments, Britain will next week try to persuade pension schemes to plough billions of pounds into infrastructure and start-ups in its next leg of post-Brexit reforms. ES&E Magazine The water utility and wastewater departments in The Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) are forming a commission that would be regulated by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board and funded entirely by customer usage. CWWA Member Profiles
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