So the results are in and…. well…nothing much will change.  That’s ok.

You can debate if there was a ‘need’ for an election, but you can’t be upset that voters hadn’t changed their mind much in 2 years. We will return to a Liberal minority government.  I am quite ok with that.

With the federal election, coming after the summer parliamentary break, most federal initiatives and programs have been paused. Now that the election is over we look forward to working with the minority Liberal government as they identify their priorities for their term. We are hopeful that the Canada Water Agency will continue to advance, and that federal infrastructure programs will continue.

CWWA’s Biosolids Committee aspires to be the national voice for biosolids management in Canada.  Currently the committee is seeking two to three new members to join an active group of biosolids specialists from across the country.  Members interested in knowing more about the current volunteer opportunities are kindly requested to contact the Chair of the Biosolids Committee, Kaoru Yajima at KYajima@regionofwaterloo.ca

The 2021 National Water and Wastewater Conference is going virtual! After much discussion with our members and partners, we felt that the best way to bring our members a quality conference program was to offer it exclusively online. The online conference is planned for Jauary 11 - February 3, 2022, with webinars taking place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, spanning the many topics our Association follows. Watch our website for the webinar schedule, registration and sponsorship opportunities. We've updated our website with accessible links to the 2020 webinar recordings, and programs for past events.

We’ll be in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2022 and will finally make it to Niagara Falls in 2023.

CWWA member and City of Toronto engineer, Garry N. Boychuk has just released a new book titled, Project Management in Practice: A Guide for Effective Delivery of Capital Infrastructure.   This book should be a great resource for our utility leaders.

You can get more details and order the book from Friesen Press or Amazon Books

Of course we’ll add this to our resource page for our Guidance Document : Towards a Sustainable Utility on our cwwa.ca website

On October 21, the Value of Water Campaign is celebrating Imagine a Day Without Water, a national education that brings together diverse stakeholders to highlight how water is essential, invaluable, and in need of investment. While this is a United States-based initiative, some Canadian organizations may want to participate, or use some of the great resources they've made available. 

The federal government is consulting with water meter manufacturers, water distribution utilities and water meter end users to obtain data on current water measurement approaches to support and promote water conservation through increased accurate measurement of water use.

This recently-published standard is the first edition of CSA S900.2, Structural design of wastewater treatment plants. The standard aims to develop consistency in engineering and construction methodology. 

A new Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the federal and Manitoba governments to protect Lake Winnipeg. The MOU builds upon a previous 10-year agreement between the two governments on a co-ordinated approach to understand and protect the water quality and ecological health of Lake Winnipeg and its basin, including reducing nutrient loading. 

In Budget 2017, the federal government invested $25.7 million over five years in the Lake Winnipeg Basin Program. Lake Winnipeg is Canada’s sixth-largest lake and the eleventh-largest freshwater lake in the world. 

CBC

The front lawn at Habitat for Humanity in Thunder Bay, Ont., is smaller thanks to the work of some volunteers, to build a new rain garden.

The garden, measuring about four metres by three metres, will help absorb water running off of the roof of the group's office and ReStore in the city.

CBC News

After more than two decades without clean drinking water, Shoal Lake 40 First Nation on the Ontario-Manitoba border is celebrating the opening of a water treatment facility and the end of water advisories for the community. 

ES&E Magazine

After the first detection of microcystin at a local beach in June, and in reservoirs serving the DeCew Falls Water Treatment Plant in late August, Niagara Region officials say they have moved to daily testing at all local water treatment plants and further increased the frequency of visual inspection for blue-green algae.

Spectrum News

As lake waters continue to warm through late summer and early fall, there’s been an explosive growth of blue-green algae found in areas such as western parts of Lake Erie.

This harmful algal bloom (HAB), cyanobacteria, has the ability to produce toxins that cause illness or death with humans or pets who come in contact with the contaminated water according to NOAA.

Water Canada

CELA released a report on lead in drinking water in 2019, highlighting ongoing health concerns and laying out five key recommendations to eliminate lead from drinking water.

• Lower the mandatory minimum standard to 5 micrograms per litre in Ontario, and strive for much lower levels of lead.
• Identify exactly where the lead service lines are and create an inventory and notice requirements.
• Create an enforceable plan for the complete removal of lead services lines.
• Reduce risk through corrosion control.
• Raise awareness of the problem through public education.

   

Water Canada

Over the past decade, Canada’s federal government has focused significant attention on First Nations’ water problems, first by recognizing the challenge in 2011, then prioritizing the end of long-term boil water advisories in 2015. However, it has fallen short in responding. In 2021, we are still waiting for conditions to be put into place that will allow for transformational change to actually happen.

WEF Stormwater Report

At any given time, municipal wastewater and stormwater managers may be subject to an array of different regulatory requirements under the Clean Water Act. All too often, however, permit language may require different types of water managers to operate in a vacuum, investing in solutions that address only one water stream even when opportunities may exist to meet multiple permit obligations with a single project

ABC News

Large sewer-clogging wet wipe blockages cost south-east Queensland sewerage providers around $1 million per year.

By mid-2022, wet wipes, paper towels, tampons, and even cat litter could carry an accredited 'flushable' logo which will let consumers know the product adheres to a national standard.

Spectrum News

Fed by grease and countless baby wipes, massive rag balls have appeared in sewer systems in the state and across the nation. When these masses block sewer pipes, they can force human sewage out onto the street or even into kitchen sinks.

Press Enterprise

Assemblyman Chris Holden, D-Pasadena, partnered with a coalition of community health experts Thursday, Aug. 26 to garner support for a proposed law that would cut the legal limit of lead leaching from plumbing fixtures for sale by more than half.

CBC News

A western Newfoundland city is partnering with one of its biggest private employers in the hopes of solving its raw sewage problem and finally meeting federal wastewater rules that it, and many other Canadian municipalities, haven't had the cash to comply with on their own.

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