If there was ever any doubt if water was an important national issue, just check out the news. (I was going to say “read the papers,” but we’re hitting every news platform).

Just this year alone, I have been interviewed by national news outlets on a wide range of water and wastewater topics. 

The Canadian Water & Wastewater Association presents IWA’s 2019 LESAM and PI conferences, to be held back to back in Vancouver, Canada. Join us for these joint international conferences that will attract performance assessment specialists and asset management professionals from around the world. They represent the leading public and private water utilities, consulting firms, academic and research institutions active in water and wastewater

Register before September 20 for the best pricing. Early bird pricing ends on September 20th so be sure to register to take advantage of savings

As the financial cost of a changing climate rises and as Canadians head to a federal election, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) recently issued a call advocating that all political parties in the upcoming federal election commit to a National Action Plan on Flooding. “Any political party that aims to lead Canada into the next decade should lay out explicit measures to protect Canadians from these current threats. Any climate plan without adaptation is only half a plan,” said Craig Stewart, Vice President, Federal Affairs, IBC.

The Journal of the American Medical Association, Pediatrics published a paper today detailing an association between consuming fluoride in drinking water during pregnancy and decreased IQ in young children. The most cited finding is, “A 1-mg increase in fluoride intake was associated with a 3.66 … lower FSIQ score among boys and girls.”

The Water Research Foundation has released a fact sheet on microplastics in response to recent reporting on a USGS report on microplastics in Colorado. The fact sheet does a great job of explaining what microplastics are and the current state of research on their impacts.

FCM recently unveiled recommendations on how the federal parties can empower local leaders to build vibrant rural communities.

This election, FCM is calling on all federal parties to commit to building a “rural lens” into the very heart of the federal government—bringing rural realities to the table, and modernizing federal tools to empower rural leaders to build better lives.

ECO Canada is a not- for- profit organization based in Calgary Alberta . We have been in operation for over 25 years working, supporting, and developing environmental professional all over Canada through training, certification and Wage-Funding programs.

On July 19, 2019, Health Canada posted a list of substances assessed under the third phase of the department’s Chemicals Management Plan (CMP) (2016-2021).

On July 11, 2019, Health Canada posted a proposed “integrated strategy for the protection of Canadian workers from exposure to chemicals”. The proposal explores ways to enhance the protection of workers from exposure to chemicals by integrating and leveraging the information, tools, and/or technical expertise of the Chemicals Management Plan and Health Canada's Workplace Hazardous Products Program. One proposal is to integrate the federal management of the WHMIS Program under Health Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan (CMP). Feedback will be considered by Health Canada when it contributes to the development of the next phase of the Government of Canada's chemicals management activities.

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.

The combined test areas serve 8.4 million residents, or approximately 20% of the Canadian population. The test was conducted to determine the feasibility of using wastewater sampling to efficiently and anonymously measure total societal use of specific drugs, and to estimate the size of the unregulated market of such drugs.

CWWA and our technical committees will be discussing the findings of this study - specifically at how much of these substances are removed by treatment, and what low levels of drugs and metabolites could mean for human and environmental health.

O. Reg. 208/19 allows developers who enter into an agreement with a municipality to construct sewage works to transfer their ownership to one of the following: the municipality; a public utility commission deemed to be a municipal service board; a municipal service board; or a corporation established under the Municipal or City of Toronto Act.

The current Canada-Ontario Agreement expires in December 2019. To support the continued partnership on Great Lakes restoration, Canada and Ontario have negotiated a draft new Canada-Ontario Agreement.

This would be the ninth agreement between the two levels of government and it is designed to advance action on key challenges facing the Great Lakes such as improving wastewater and stormwater management and reducing pollution, including a new focus on road salt and plastic pollution.

A report released July 30, 2019, says the BC government is failing to protect drinking water from increased risks due to climate change and activities such as logging. Provincial Auditor General, Carol Bellringer’s, independent audit zeroed in on the leadership roles of the health ministry and provincial health officer, saying accountability measures for safeguarding drinking water are “of grave concern.”

This is Toronto’s first resilience strategy. It sets out a vision, goals, and actions to help Toronto survive, adapt and thrive in the face of any challenge, particularly climate change and growing inequities.

Breakfast Television

Is Toronto tap water safe to drink after all? Director, Water Treatment & Supply, William Fernandes reveals how often water is tested, and how to know what's safe.

Water Environment Federation: Stormwater Report

Stormwater management regulations have come a long way since U.S. Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972.

Climate change results in more frequent and intense precipitation because warmer clouds can hold – and drop – more water. However, the standards that U.S. stormwater professionals use to design infrastructure hinges on data more than 50 years old. A new study calls for revised design standards for stormwater infrastructure designs that account for the changing definition of an “extreme storm”.
U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The Guardian

The planet is facing a mounting and “invisible” water pollution crisis, according to a hard-hitting World Bank report, which claims the issue is responsible for a one-third reduction in potential economic growth in the most heavily affected areas.

Water Canada

Record investments in water infrastructure across the country have put a dent in the needs for new and rehabilitated assets, but there is still a substantial amount of investment needed. At the same time, there is still significant work to be done at the federal level on issues such as flood resilience and microplastics. And of course, the self-imposed target of ending all boil water advisories in Indigenous communities by the end of 2021 will take a great deal of work from the next government.

Yahoo Finance

The ACCC is appealing a Federal Court ruling that Kimberly-Clark's Kleenex wipes are suitable to be flushed down the toilet, arguing that the risk of harm to sewerage systems was overlooked.

The court found in June that Kimberly-Clark's "flushable" claims were not false or misleading, a decision that dismayed consumer groups and water utility firms who say wipes contribute to sewage blockages, environmental harm and high plumbing bills.

Water Canada

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale announced over $7.75 million in funding to support work on 61 new projects in Ontario under the National Disaster Mitigation Program (NDMP).

Water Canada

The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Jonathan Wilkinson, and Minister of Democratic Institutions Karina Gould visited the Canada Centre for Inland Waters and the CCGS Limnos. During the visit, they received updates on a number of DFO science and operational programs conducted at these world class research labs and met many dedicated research scientists working to protect the Great Lakes.

Water Canada

The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Jonathan Wilkinson, and Minister of Democratic Institutions Karina Gould visited the Canada Centre for Inland Waters and the CCGS Limnos. During the visit, they received updates on a number of DFO science and operational programs conducted at these world class research labs and met many dedicated research scientists working to protect the Great Lakes.

Cleantech Canada

Several hundred Canadian millennials planned to rally in at least 30 cities across the country Wednesday, demanding a federal leaders’ debate on climate change.

Municipal World

How do you get residents to conserve water in the steamy summer months? This may sound like a simple question, but it can be a vexing and expensive challenge for municipalities.

While some parts of the world are ‘flush’ with freshwater, others face serious drought. What’s more, only a fraction of the world’s freshwater is available for us to use and drink, as the rest is in the sea or frozen in glaciers. As the world’s population continues to put pressure on this limited supply, being more efficient with what we have is our only solution. A new International Standard has just been published to help.