From the CWWA family to yours - Happy Holidays.

Please note, the CWWA office will be closed from December 24, 2015 - January 4, 2016.

A lot of pundits say that the turning point in the federal election was the day Mr. Trudeau announced he would run a deficit to invest in infrastructure. The other parties said he was crazy, but it put him at the centre of the conversation. It also proved the argument that taxpayers are not bought by tax cuts but are willing to pay reasonable rates IF they feel their money is being used wisely. The majority of Canadians recognized the need to reinvest in infrastructure and accept the cost to do so.

The Window on Ottawa is CWWA’s core event featuring presentations from federal departments and national organizations on new initiatives and regulatory developments on a national level. This is your chance to hear what’s coming down the pipe from the federal government.

CWWA’s first National Water and Wastewater Conference was a huge success. It truly was a wonderful three days of information sharing, networking and socializing. Our technical program was top notch, and our social activities were fun, and offered some amazing networking opportunities.

We are excited to announce the 2016 National Water and Wastewater Conference, taking place November 13-16 in Toronto Ontario.

The City of Ottawa and the National Research Council Canada are conducting a review of current methods for calculating flows needed to fight fires in urban areas, and the required number and spacing of fire hydrants. Fire flow requirements are higher in many residential areas due to the current trend towards larger structures on smaller properties, with greater exposures to adjacent structures.

The Green Municipal Fund is introducing some changes to the application process and deadlines for capital projects for energy, transportation, waste and water initiatives.

On December 5, 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered his first speech from the throne. The Speech sets the tone and lays out priorities for the new government.

In the winter of 2016 Statistics Canada will be conducting the Survey of Drinking Water Plants. This survey is a census of public drinking water plants serving communities of 300 or more people. The survey results will produce a national portrait of treatment processes and costs, and source water quality across Canada.

The document Guidance for Issuing and Rescinding Boil Water Advisories in Canadian Drinking Water Supplies is now available on Health Canada's web site, at the following address:

The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) released, November 28, 2015, Guidance Manual for Optimizing Water Quality Monitoring Program Design. The document provides an overview of existing approaches for optimizing monitoring program design with a review of the strengths and weaknesses of each as well as recommendations for those most appropriate for use under Canadian conditions and various monitoring requirements.

Environment Canada (EC) and Health Canada (HC) are seeking input on a planned level-of-complexity risk assessment framework for addressing the remaining priorities under the planned next phase of the Chemicals Management Plan (CMP).

Draft revisions to the Drinking Water Quality Management Standard (DWQMS) being proposed by Ontario’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) would require Operating Authorities to take a closer look at the long-term consequence of a wide range of environmental, human and technical threats to the municipal residential drinking water systems they manage. The expanded assessment and planning requirements, if adopted, could also significantly increase the paper burden and compliance costs of owners and operators.

British Columbia’s Ministry of Environment, Water Protection & Sustainability Branch recently posted a summary of British Columbia Approved Water Quality Guidelines. The document presents BC-approved water quality guidelines (WQGs) arranged alphabetically, by substance. Each table includes explanatory notes and links to the appropriate technical document. For WQGs that are dependent on other factors (e.g. pH, water hardness), worked examples are provided.

Standards Council of Canada has just circulated a New Work Item Proposal to establish a new technical committee on corrosion control engineering life cycle. Responses to the proposal are requested by SCC before February 7, 2016.

CWWA’s members have participated in ISO Technical Committees 224 (Municipal Service Assessment), 251 (Asset Management), 275 (Sludge and Residuals Management (Water Reuse). They have done so by commenting on documents flowing from these TCs and SCs and where possible by attending meetings. Canada hosted three of these meetings courtesy of Halifax Water (crisis management), Cole Engineering (water efficiency management) and IAND Canada (stormwater management). Participation in these ISO activities is professionally rewarding as it provides access to the best international advice and positions from experts in up to 35 countries.

Visit the CWWA Events calendar for upcoming water events.

SCI IEX 2016 is a Conference held every 4 years which should be of interest to any users and/or researchers working in the ion exchange area. The next conference will be held in Cambridge, UK July 6-9, 2016.

Thank you to everyone who has already submitted their paper proposals in advance of our December 11, 2015 deadline. We have received requests to extend the deadline for the submission of papers for the 2016 Canadian Biosolids and Residuals Conference. As a result, the Call for Papers deadline has been extended to January 22, 2016. We are pleased to announce that delegate registration is now open.

Water Canada
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed this week by Premier Christy Clark and State of Alaska Governor Bill Walker strengthens cross-border partnerships between British Columbia and Alaska in many areas of common interest including mining and transboundary water.

WEF
In the U.S., funding and valuation of green infrastructure is one of the most significant barriers to implementation of this stormwater management approach. However, there are ways to reduce capital costs and plan more effectively for long-term operations and maintenance (O&M). In a study of hundreds of built projects from across the U.S., CH2M water resources consultants Andrew Potts, Brian Marengo, and Dan Wible examined proven strategies for reducing green infrastructure costs.

The Globe and Mail
Canada’s water is in crisis. This is partly because of federal neglect of water and water-related climate issues. We face increasingly damaging industrial, mining and agricultural water contamination; increases in flooding brought about by inappropriate land use and development in flood plains and headwaters; and ever-more-damaging extremes of flood and drought brought about by climate changes to which we have contributed by changing the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere.

CBC
Lakes around the world are warming surprisingly quickly due to climate change, threatening the global water supply. And lakes in Canada are some of the fastest-warming in the world, a new study shows.

Northern Life
Thirty-three per cent of the water pumped through the City of Sudbury's water infrastructure in 2014 was lost revenue, according to a report prepared for the city's operations committee.

CBC
A Meteghan River, N.S., potter is part of an international group that provides simple ceramic water filter technology to countries where water-borne diseases are problems.

Water Online
Recipes combining salt and tap water treated by chlorination or chloramination may create toxic food.

Whistler Question
In 2016 the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) will be receiving consultation on its wastewater systems.
Whistler was the chosen municipality for the BC Water and Waste Association (BCWWA) Student Design Competition, where teams of students prepare and present a conceptual design that addresses the requirements established by the RMOW.

WaterCanada
The Town of Greater Napanee has posted Ontario’s first new standard road sign to help protect public drinking water sources. It is the first of many more standard signs that will be installed across the province to raise public awareness about drinking water vulnerability.