Canadian Water and Wastewater Association eBulletin

The following is an article I prepared for the Toronto Star for an issue about Climate Change. I thought I would share with all of you:

We all know how important clean water is to life. Sometimes we worry if there will be enough, but then, when it rains ... it pours ... as witnessed in southern Alberta and the Toronto region last summer. These flood events are not so rare and can be expected more frequently in the future. Putting aside the arguments around why there is global warming, the realities of climate change demand a reaction by municipal governments and by their citizens. Climate change affects our water in three ways: the quality, the quantity and then the storm events.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=267518&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.

Associate-Private Sector Member

CEDA International Corporation (AB)
CEDA International works with municipalities to help manage their fluid handling systems and water, wastewater and remediation treatment systems. CEDA International provides dredging, dewatering, pumping and utility maintenance services.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=267673&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.

The CCME has published a progress report on the implementation of the Canada Wide Strategy for the Management of Municipal Wastewater Effluents.

The Strategy includes a total of 11 commitments that were to be met by 2014. This report reviews these commitments and documents each province’s success in implementing them.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=267542&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.

A new expert panel report, Environmental Impacts of Shale Gas Extraction in Canada, concludes that shale gas development must be supported by well-targeted science and management strategies to understand and mitigate potential impacts.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=267553&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.

On April 1, 2014, the majority of the amendments to the Navigable Waters Protection Act, which were part of omnibus Bill C-45 in 2012, came into force. Of particular note is that the name of the act is now the Navigation Protection Act (NPA).

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=267557&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada ("AANDC") has released details of its new Environmental Review Process (ERP) under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012).

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=267560&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.

Health Canada’s Water and Air Quality Bureau, Safe Environments Directorate recently released Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality Guideline Technical Document – Vinyl Chloride. According to the guidelines, the maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) for vinyl chloride in drinking water is 0.002 mg/L (2 μg/L). "Every effort should be made to maintain vinyl chloride levels in drinking water as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA)".

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=267584&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.

Ontario Regulation 91/14, Amending O. Reg. 260/08 Performance Standards, pursuant to the Professional Engineers Act, was published in the April 12, 2014 edition of The Ontario Gazette.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=267578&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.

Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment announced, April 24, 2014, new proposals designed to implement provisions related to managing water takings and transfers of water between Great Lakes watersheds (from one Great Lake watershed to another).

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=267598&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.

Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment has posted notice of a proposal to update the Protocol for the Sampling and Analysis of Industrial/Municipal Wastewater to align with current analytical advances and data reporting procedures.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=267600&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.

Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment has posted A Guide for Drinking Water System Owners Seeking To Undertake A Backflow Prevention Program.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=267607&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.

The Alberta Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Agency, or AEMERA, formally commenced operations on April 28, 2014, the same date at which the Protecting Alberta's Environment Act took effect.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=267615&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.

Yukon’s Minister of Environment, has tabled a new Act to Amend the Environment Act.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=267651&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.

New Brunswick Regulation 2014-26, pursuant to the Clean Water Act, was published in the April 9, 2014 edition of The Royal Gazette. The regulation amends NB Reg. 93-203 Potable Water Regulation to add new requirements for ministerial approval for sampling plans in accordance with minimum standards as set out in a standard operating procedures document. A sampling plan approved by the Minister of Health under section 8 shall remain in force until July 1, 2014, or until a new sampling plan is approved by the Minister of Environment and Local Government (whichever occurs first).

Visit http://www.gnb.ca/0062/gazette/rg20140409.pdf to view the full article online.

There are a large number of water events this year being offered by CWWA, our partners and regional associations. This calendar highlights a few of these opportunities. International events and updates are always available from our online calendar at www.cwwa.ca.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=267670&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.

Water Canada
The government of Manitoba announced on April 30 a five year, $84-million investment to improve and upgrade water and wastewater facilities across the province.

Visit https://watercanada.net/2014/manitoba-to-spend-84-million-on-water-and-wastewater-upgrades/ to view the full article online.

The Hamilton Spectator
McMaster researchers have created a pill that instantly analyzes drinking water without the need for slow and expensive water-testing in laboratories.

Visit http://www.thespec.com/news-story/4492668-mcmaster-develops-pill-to-instantly-test-water/ to view the full article online.

Leader-Post
This seaside city thought it had the perfect solution the last time California withered in a severe drought more than two decades ago: tap the ocean to turn salty seawater to fresh water.

Visit http://www.leaderpost.com/business/City+ponders+reviving+desalination+plant/9807113/story.html to view the full article online.

Calgary Herald
City officials are keeping a close eye on all the factors that could lead to overland flooding during the spring runoff season, which stretches from mid-May to mid-July. In a briefing Tuesday, they said there are areas of potential concern, but they stopped short of sounding alarms. Herald reporter Reid Southwick examines what city hall is doing to prepare for spring runoff.

Visit http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Five+ways+Calgary+preparing+potential+floods+video/9812938/story.html to view the full article online.

sUAS News
Under Request for proposal No. K4E21-130308 (Survey Grade Unmanned Aerial System) and contract No. K4E21-130308/001/WPG, the Government of Canada and the Metrological Service of Canada (MSC) of Environment Canada (EC) chose the Aeromapper UAV system over other systems, to be used for fine resolution mapping of saturated areas and variable streamflow contributing areas in support of streamflow and nutrient flux measurements. The vehicle will be deployed in remote areas of Canada over rough terrain and without road access.

Visit http://www.suasnews.com/2014/05/29036/aeromao-inc-delivers-aeromapper-uav-to-environment-canada-for-water-quality-monitoring-program/ to view the full article online.

Calgary Herald
As high as the city’s tax and utility forecasts approved this week are, they’re actually below the target rates council set for the 2012-2014 budget three years ago.

Visit http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/City+hikes+actually+lower+than+first+estimates/9812821/story.html to view the full article online.

The Globe and Mail
Unconventional gas production has changed the world’s energy outlook, but critics point to the large amounts of water required to extract it. Now the push for more natural gas through horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking") is leading to new ways to extract it using much less water.

Visit http://www.theglobeandmail.com/partners/ge-innovation/amid-concerns-new-technology-aims-to-make-fracking-water-friendly/article18482205/ to view the full article online.

Leader-Post
Flooding in Saskatchewan is a different story depending on whether you are living in the southern or northern part of the province.

Visit http://www.leaderpost.com/news/Saskatchewan+divided+concerns+about+flood+water/9789794/story.html to view the full article online.

Herald News
A 2011 consultant’s report found insufficiencies in the monitoring of effluent flowing into and out of Northern Pulp’s Boat Harbour treatment facility.
The report, prepared by Stantec Consulting Ltd., was obtained by the Halifax Media Co-op through a freedom of information request.

Visit http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1205001-report-raps-firm-over-effluent-procedure to view the full article online.

Herald News
Jean Legge limed and fertilized her own lawn, and the 76-year-old has cut the lush green grass on her immaculate property once already this season.
But over in the corner there’s a nasty brown mess where the grass was killed by water that flooded from the brook beside her Liverpool property into her basement.

Visit http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1205709-a-rising-tide-of-worries-in-liverpool to view the full article online.

Herald News
A mystery plume of brown sludge billowed into Halifax Harbour on Thursday amid a heavy spring downpour.

Visit http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/1202959-mystery-sludge-in-harbour-examined to view the full article online.

Water Canada
AECOM Technology Corporation has been awarded a $2.3-million contract by the Region of Peel for improvements to the region’s Lakeview Water Treatment Plant in Mississauga, Ontario.

Visit https://watercanada.net/2014/aecom-awarded-peel-region-contract/ to view the full article online.

Edmonton Journal
A mandatory boil-water advisory has been ordered by the Town of Drayton Valley.

Visit http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Boil+water+advisory+issued+Drayton+Valley/9806327/story.html to view the full article online.

The Globe and Mail
When Ellen Alston fled her home in southern Alberta it was to escape something she never thought she’d fear — drinking water.

Visit http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/climate-change-and-health-when-drinking-water-turns-bad/article18326905/ to view the full article online.

Water Canada
The Government of Alberta will move forward with flood mitigation efforts along the Elbow and Highwood Rivers, according to an April 29 press release. The province has committed $600 million over the next three years and is set to proceed with preliminary design, environmental review, and community consultations on water diversion and storage projects in at-risk areas.

Visit http://watercanada.net/2014/alberta-commits-600-million-to-flood-mitigation-projects/ to view the full article online.

AWWA
AWWA is keeping a close eye on new developments in the area of chemical security. Last week, the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee approved legislation to reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security’s Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program, and to require a study on current exemptions to the program.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=266348&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.

Global Credit Portal
In the debate about infrastructure investment in the U.S., the focus is invariably on cost--which is no surprise, given that there are dollar figures in the trillions at stake. Less discussed--but no less important, in Standard & Poor's view--are the returns that infrastructure investment affords. And not just for lenders, who enjoy lower default rates and higher yields than they might get from investments in similarly rated corporate debt. We're talking about the multiplier effect that such investments have on an economy: Specifically, how each dollar of infrastructure spending, if allocated wisely, translates into much more than that in terms of economic growth.

Visit https://www.globalcreditportal.com/ratingsdirect/renderArticle.do?articleId=1310967&SctArtId=235105&from=CM&nsl_code=LIME&sourceObjectId=8600861&sourceRevId=2&fee_ind=N&exp_date=20240505-21:16:44 to view the full article online.

Water Canada
The City of Kelowna, British Columbia won the inaugural British Columbia Water & Waste Association’s (BCWWA) "Best of the Best" tap water taste test challenge at the association’s annual conference. The City of Kelowna bested nearly a dozen other entrants.

Visit http://watercanada.net/2014/kelowna-wins-tap-water-taste-challenge-at-bcwwa-annual-conference/ to view the full article online.

Water Tap
Ontario-based manufacturers of water and wastewater equipment may well remember the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The ARRA provided billions of new federal spending on U.S. infrastructure projects – from roads and bridges to sewage facilities. At the time, it was hoped it would bring new opportunities for a vibrant North American cross-border supply chain; alas, it didn’t. The ARRA was all about U.S. job creation, a goal that promoted the introduction of a domestic preference clause known as "Buy American."

Visit http://www.watertapontario.com/news/blog/the-return-of-buy-american/64 to view the full article online.

Huffintonpost
It's widely used nationwide as a germ-killing ingredient in soaps, deodorants and even toothpaste, but it's being banned in Minnesota. Gov. Mark Dayton on Friday signed a bill to make Minnesota the first state to prohibit the use of triclosan in most retail consumer hygiene products. The Minnesota House and Senate passed it earlier last week because of health and environmental concerns about the chemical. The ban isn't due to take effect until Jan. 1, 2017, but one of its lead sponsors, state Sen. John Marty, predicted Monday that the odds are good that most manufacturers will phase out triclosan by then anyway.

Visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/20/minnesota-ban-triclosan-antibacterial-soap_n_5357733.html?utm_hp_ref=tw to view the full article online.

Water Canada
Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched the new National Conservation Plan (NCP) on May 15 in New Maryland, New Brunswick. The plan aims to provide a "more coordinated approach to conservation efforts across the country with an emphasis on enabling Canadians to conserve and restore lands and waters in and around their communities," according to a release from the Prime Minister.

Visit http://watercanada.net/2014/pm-announces-national-conservation-plan/ to view the full article online.

Water Canada
The Toronto Star has reported that tap water in 13 per cent of Toronto homes tested over the last six years contain an unsafe amount of lead, according to city data obtained by the newspaper. The data draws from 15,000 samples between 2008 and 2014.

Visit http://watercanada.net/2014/unsafe-amounts-of-lead-in-13-per-cent-of-toronto-homes-toronto-star/ to view the full article online.

AWWA
In an important victory for U.S. water utilities and their customers, a House-Senate committee has released legislation to create a pilot Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Authority that would lower the cost of renewing America’s aging water infrastructure.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/cww-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=267779&issueID=37476 to view the full article online.