If there’s one skill we’ve built during this pandemic, it’s to be more flexible.  Every time we schedule an event…it’s postponed…or cancelled...or made virtual.  Even when you get on a virtual meeting, be prepared for it not to work out as planned.

Join us January 13. 

There are many important aspects of utility management and leadership, but none so influential as the governance structure you work within. Is your utility a municipal department or a more independent ‘corporation’? Do you serve one community or several? This can dictate how quickly you can react or adapt, and how resilient you can be when facing challenges. At this webinar, we will consider several models and discuss the pros and cons of each.

WEF Highlights

Nowadays, it’s rare to find someone without an account on at least one social network, whether that be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Snapchat. For water professionals, social media represents one of the simplest ways to convey the value of water — and your organization’s role in ensuring its safety — to customers and community members.

Longtime CWWA member, supporter and contributor John Presta was awarded the Arthur Sydney Bedell Award for extraordinary personal service to WEF by the Water Environment Association of Ontario.  

The Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation recently released a new report Under One Umbrella: Practical Approaches for Reducing Flood Risk in Canada. Presented as “one-stop-shopping” for practical and cost-effective ways to alleviate the risk of future floods, the report highlights that Canadians have the tools they need to protect lives and property from flooding. What has been lacking – until now – is a user-friendly summary of cost-effective and practical actions that Canadians can take to improve flood resilience in their homes, businesses and communities.

A new logo has been unveiled to clarify products that meet internationally agreed upon flushability standards. In the absence of a sector wide definition of flushability, a group of international water experts have developed a Publicly Available Specification (PAS). The PAS aligns with the key aspects required for materials to be compatible with sewerage infrastructure as defined through the International Standards Organisation (ISO). 

CWWA wants to congratulate our members at the Capital Regional District (serving greater Victoria, BC) on this amazing achievement.  This $775 million project was co-funded by the CRD, the Province of BC and the federal government of Canada and was designed to meet their obligations under the Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations (WSER).

Read the full Press Release here

 
And be sure to watch the YouTube video here: The CRD’s Wastewater Treatment Project Begins Treating Wastewater - YouTube 

The City of Edmonton’s Blatchford project is the 2020 winner in the neighbourhoods category of FCM’s Sustainable Communities Awards. The initiative also received FCM's Inspire Award for the project that best demonstrates creativity and innovation, as decided by delegates at FCM's Sustainable Communities Conference.

Led by the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation (University of Waterloo), the Global Risk Institute and Stanford Global Projects Center (Stanford University), a global survey of institutional investors managing $2-trillion (U.S.) identified a need for concise and interpretable information regarding risks portfolios face from physical climate change. In response, many of these investors are looking to a new risk-assessment tool, the Climate Risk Matrix (CRM).

The CRM is a tool that institutional investors can use to identify material physical risks that investee companies face from climate-related extreme weather events.

This Bill continues through the parliamentary process, having second reading in mid-November. This enactment requires that national targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada be set, with the objective of attaining net-zero emissions by 2050. The targets are to be set by the Minister of the Environment for 2030, 2035, 2040 and 2045.

There are several ongoing consultations on proposed guidelines for drinking water quality. CWWA’s Drinking Water Quality Committee regularly reviews the consultations for public comment and submits comments when there is concern about the proposed guideline of the background information provided.

Winter storms have destructive potential and present a variety of hazards to CI and associated CI sectoral functions. A reality for all parts of Canada, winter storms can quickly become dangerous with minimal warning. This product is intended to assess potential critical infrastructure (CI) impacts resulting from severe winter storms within Canada. It will identify historical CI impacts of severe winter storms in Canada, and provide analysis on CI and supply chains which, if disrupted or destroyed, could have implications on public safety and economic stability.

On December 17 the Government of Canada launched consultations on the new Canada Water Agency. CWWA has already submitted comments on initial proposals, supporting the concept and offering input on the what we'd like to see as priorities for the Agency.

CWWA and our technical committees will be reviewing the consultation documents and will continue to be actively involved in the development of the Agency. 

Ontario has published proposed amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act with the goal of modernizing the act. The purpose of the amendments is to ensure that conservation authorities focus on their core mandate and to improve public transparency, consistency, and accountability in conservation authorities’ operations.

Proponents of these changes claim that conservation authorities have expanded their reach beyond the original intention and these changes will realign with the original scope of the authority. Critics claim that these changes will damage conservation authorities ability to protect the environment.

Ontario is moving forward with changes to the Ontario Water Resources Act that will give host municipalities more direct input on allowing bottled water companies to withdraw new or increased amounts of groundwater in their communities. 

CBC News

After two months of living in hotel rooms, members of a remote First Nation will begin returning home today to clean tap water for the first time in 25 years.

But the community's public health officer says the boil-water advisory, which has been in place since 1995, will remain in place because of lingering problems with the water plant's performance — problems the community warns could grow worse without more help from the federal government.

AWWA Public Affairs

Staff from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported at last week’s annual meeting of the agency’s National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) that their focus is on finalizing a Revised Lead and Copper Rule and on regulatory determinations for some per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds.  and the UCMR.

CBC News

The Alberta government wants to rewrite the rules on water use along the eastern slopes of the Rockies as part of its economic recovery plan, including a push for new coal developments in the area.  

Water Canada

The first Indigenous owned and operated water utility in Canada, developed by way of a Public-Private-Community Partnership (PPCP), is a step closer to reality. A formal agreement between the Okanagan Indian Band Group of Companies (OKIB GC), EPCOR, and Enterprise Canada was signed in November 2020.

Hatch is passionately committed to the pursuit of a better world through positive change. All over the world, water and wastewater facility operators trust us with a wide range of  clean water processes, wastewater treatments and resources recovery, physical and chemical treatments, biological treatments, linear and conveyance infrastructures, CSO and SSO control, water process automation, water data digitizations, climate change and infrastructure resiliency issues and alternative water project deliveries. Our experts understand the dynamics of water and wastewater operations—mechanical, electrical, automation, chemical, microbiological, and process. We deliver outstanding results, using technology and innovation throughout the entire water cycle. Our clients get solutions that combine state-of-the-art designs with security, sustainability, and sensitivity to the operating environments. Life-cycle cost savings and award-winning results, together with outstanding professional services that exceed your expectations.