Canadian Water and Wastewater Association eBulletin

I’ll be honest from the outset that the following message is a complete sales job to get you to attend the revised WINDOW ON OTTAWA event.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=375478&issueID=40425 to view the full article online.

Be sure to register for CWWA's signature event - the Window on Ottawa and remember there's still one day to apply for our Utility Excellence Awards.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=375213&issueID=40425 to view the full article online.

Engineers Canada has developed a Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee (PIEVC) to serve as a resource to provide the science base to inform decision-making. The PIEVC Protocol—which has been applied more than 40 times in Canada and globally—is a documented process for engineers, planners and decision-makers to identify and recommend measures to address the vulnerabilities and risks from climate change on infrastructure.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=375573&issueID=40425 to view the full article online.

On March 3, 2016, Health Canada and the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hosted a webinar designed to update stakeholders on the development of a "work plan" to further align US and Canadian hazard communication regulations.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=375274&issueID=40425 to view the full article online.

Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change (MECC), Catherine McKenna, released March 8, 2016, Canada’s first comprehensive national synthesis and evaluation of scientific mercury research - Canadian Mercury Science Assessment.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=375323&issueID=40425 to view the full article online.

Potential blockages in commercial building drain lines have been feared by plumbers and building managers due to increasingly efficient plumbing fixtures. The Plumbing Efficiency Research Coalition (PERC) identified this issue as a critical research need, and undertook an earlier phase of this study to examine the behavior of drain lines under certain conditions.

PERC recently published an update to the second part of that study evaluating the characteristics of transport of solid waste in commercial building drains. Since the study is actually in two parts, in order to understand the findings and recommendations contained in this second study installment, it is imperative for readers to first read the PERC Phase 1 final report,

Both reports are available for download.

Visit www.plumbingefficiencyresearchcoalition.org. to view the full article online.

On April 5, 2016, Alberta Minister of Environment and Parks announced that her government will establish a new structure to improve the Alberta’s environmental monitoring and reporting system.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=375549&issueID=40425 to view the full article online.

British Columbia’s new Water Sustainability Act (WSA) formally took effect on February 29, 2016. The Act replaces many parts of the old Water Act to create a new regulatory regime for water management in BC.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=375553&issueID=40425 to view the full article online.

Water Efficiency Weekly

It seems like a scene from a futuristic film—a swarm of tiny microbots sweeps in and saves the Earth. But this space-age scenario has recently become reality.

Microbots, by definition, are miniaturized machines created to perform a specific task with tremendous precision. An international research team led by the Max-Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany has designed a microbot capable of removing contaminants such as lead and other heavy metals from water. Their research is published in Nano Letters.

Visit http://foresternetwork.com/daily/water/water-treatment/sci-fi-water-sanitation/ to view the full article online.

Browse CWWA, our partner's and member association's 2016 events.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=370225&issueID=40425 to view the full article online.

Water Technology
Hackers breached a water company’s industrial control system and made changes to valve and flow control settings, Verizon revealed in its latest Data Breach Digest. The unnamed water district had asked Verizon to assess its networks for indications of a security breach. It said there was no evidence of unauthorized access, and the assessment was a proactive measure as part of ongoing efforts to keep its systems and networks healthy.

Visit http://www.watertechonline.com/hackers-change-chemical-settings-at-water-treatment-plant/ to view the full article online.

AWWA Connections
When AWWA last month announced its support for replacing all lead service lines over time, it stirred an ongoing discussion about how to accomplish the task, how long it will take, and how to pay for it. One answer is already clear: Replacing lead service lines will require collaboration and shared responsibility among many partners – not just among utilities and customers.

Visit http://www.awwa.org/publications/connections/connections-story/articleid/4141/shared-responsibility-key-to-getting-lead-out.aspx to view the full article online.

Water Canada
Banning plastic-bottled water may be the next item on Montreal’s environmental to-do list. According to a report by The Canadian Press, Mayor Denise Coderre has mentioned banning bottled water, but hasn’t announced a firm plan. This news comes after the city moved to ban plastic bags by 2018. Now the city has plastic-bottled water in its sights. Plastic bags and bottles could take hundreds of years to degrade in landfills and too often end up in Canada’s waterways, becoming hazardous to wildlife.

Visit http://watercanada.net/2016/ban-on-plastic-bottled-water-may-be-in-store-for-montreal/ to view the full article online.

Water Online
I sympathize with water and wastewater utilities. Tasked with more responsibility than ever, too often they aren’t supported with the necessary financial resources. To draw a baseball analogy, apropos for this time of year, it's like trying to win the World Series with minimal payroll (capital improvement funds) and old, broken-down players (infrastructure).

Visit http://www.wateronline.com/doc/raising-water-rates-what-message-works-best-0001?sectionCode=TOC&templateCode=Single&user=3130713&source=nl:45404&utm_source=et_10759433&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WOL_2016-04-19&utm_term=8716093d-9883-4414-9585-e4e29ddda to view the full article online.

WaterTap
Responsible climate stewardship has never been more critical. As previously reported, programs such as cap and trade provide incentives to work toward a low carbon economy. Similarly, smaller-scale, localized initiatives have contributed to reducing energy use.

Visit http://www.watertapontario.com/news/blog/york-region-wastewater-ghg-emissions/153 to view the full article online.

SOWC
The Southern Ontario Water Consortium (SOWC) is playing a critical role in pushing a Renfrew company’s latest innovation in wastewater treatment to market by removing the barriers that can arise in the final stages of development. For many water technology companies, setting up a real-world demonstration that proves the effectiveness of a product to potential customers can be an uphill battle. But thanks to SOWC, Bishop Water Technologies now has a demonstration site, ministry approvals, a relevant research partner and the funding required to successfully demonstrate its innovative BioCord Reactor technology.

Visit https://sowc.ca/sowc-paves-the-way-towards-the-commercialization-of-an-innovative-wastewater-treatment-technology/ to view the full article online.

GroundWater
Nearly $20 million in funding from the federal government to Canadian universities will benefit researchers like Anh Pham, who is developing new technologies to treat contaminated soil and ground water. On behalf of Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, Terry Beech, Parliamentary Secretary for Science, announced nearly $20 million in funding to 33 Canadian universities on April 15 at Carleton University in Ottawa. The investment was made by the federal government through the Canada Foundation for Innovation's (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund – a fund designed to help universities attract and retain the best and brightest researchers from around the world by giving them access to state-of-the-art research tools.

Visit http://www.groundwatercanada.com/news/federal-science-funding-to-help-ground-water-contamination-research-other-studies-3187#sthash.FF6ANNDb.dpuf?custnum=22214639702&title=&utm_source=E912&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=160421F to view the full article online.

Canadian Consulting engineer
The chief executive officer of the Insurance Bureau of Canada is asking why Canada has no national strategy to combat the effects of flooding and devastation from climate change.In an article published in the Globe and Mail on April 11 Don Forgeron points out that the Parliamentary Budget Office has estimated that costs from natural disasters driven in part by climate change are much greater than previously estimated. Yet Canada is the only Group of Seven country that has no national flood program.

Visit http://www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/water-wastewater/insurance-chief-calls-better-flood-protection-mapping/1003402345/ to view the full article online.

AWWA
Energy costs are a large portion of the operational budget for water and wastewater utilities, second only to staffing. This handbook provides information and insight into energy management strategies that can reduce operational costs, increase operational efficiencies, and develop a more sustainable infrastructure.

Visit http://www.awwa.org/store/productdetail.aspx?productid=6674 to view the full article online.

MetroNews
A professor at Simon Fraser University is leading a research project that pulls water out of thin air, even in hot, dry weather. Majid Bahrami and his PhD student Farshid Bagheri spent three years working to find a solution to the world's growing demand for drinkable water.

Visit http://www.metronews.ca/news/vancouver/2016/04/26/sfu-prof-developing-system-that-pulls-water-out-of-thin-air.html to view the full article online.

CBC
As part of a green solution to mining pollution, truckloads of sewage are heading to nickel miner Vale's tailings ponds in Sudbury, Ont. But unlike the stinky, untreated haul that once came from the city's sewage treatment plants, this sewage comes from southern Ontario.

Visit http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/vale-sewage-tailings-1.3549068 to view the full article online.

CBC
The Northwest Territories' chief public health officer plans to put out a health advisory to warn people about lakes near Yellowknife with high levels of arsenic.
A study released Wednesday by the University of Ottawa found arsenic concentrations higher than the Canadian drinking water guidelines in lakes within 15 kilometres of the shuttered Giant Mine.

Visit http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yellowknife-arsenic-public-health-officer-1.3526795 to view the full article online.

Huffington Post
It’s a plastic prototype small enough to fit in your hands.
But its potential is huge. A model created by Canadian students could help clean up the world’s largest body of freshwater.

Visit http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/04/07/gordon-graydon-microbeads-great-lakes_n_9636592.html to view the full article online.

Water Online
A so-called "nightmare bacteria" that kills nearly half of its victims has been found in a wastewater treatment plant in Southern California, and sewage plants do not seem capable of killing it.

Visit http://www.wateronline.com/doc/nightmare-bacteria-found-at-socal-sewage-plant-0001?sectionCode=News&templateCode=Single&user=3130713&source=nl:45405&utm_source=et_10759433&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WOL_2016-04-27-Best-Of-April&utm_term=8716093d-9883-4 to view the full article online.