National Conference is for Utility Leaders!
Utility Leaders take note: Our national conference this fall is being put together with you, our members, in mind. This October CWWA is proud to be hosting the 16th National Drinking Water Conference.

CWWA’s Drinking Water Quality Committee recently reviewed the Guidance for Issuing and Rescinding Boil Water Advisories issued by Health Canada and the Federal/Provincial Territorial (FPT) Committee on Drinking Water.

CWWA is pleased to inform you that Canada is hosting the next meeting of this ISO Technical Committee in Burlington, Ontario, from September 8 to 12th.

The meeting will commence with an International and National Workshop on Sludges/Biosolids Management.

We’re excited to announce that the preliminary agenda for the 16th Canadian National Conference on Drinking Water is now available from our website. The program is extremely full of interesting and ground-breaking research on all aspects of water treatment - from technologies, to management and regulations.

Ms. Hayley Todesco, senior at Queen Elizabeth Junior Senior High School in Calgary, Alberta, won the 2014 Canadian Stockholm Junior Water Prize. She will be travelling to Sweden to present her project ‘Waste to Water: Biodegrading Naphthenic Acids with Novel Sand Filter Bioreactors’ at the international Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition in Stockholm.

CWWA is happy to announce the 2014 Utility Excellence Awards. These Awards highlight the remarkable work our members are accomplishing in their communities. Water and wastewater utilities perform a vital service, protecting both human health and the environment, and these Awards offer peer recognition of these efforts.

Associate-Private Sector Member

Ecoinsight Instruments Inc. (ON)
ERTH Corporation (ON)

CWWA members continue to expand and thrive across Canada.

Stantec is on the team selected to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the City of Regina's new sewage treatment plant. On May 29, the city announced that EPCOR Saskatchewan Water Partners, which includes Stantec, has been chosen as the preferred proponent for the project. The team's proposal came in lower than the budget that the city had projected both for construction and long-term operations. Graham Infrastructure is also on the team.

The Public Health Agency of Canada published new draft Potable Water on Board Trains, Vessels, Aircraft and Buses Regulations to better manage risks associated with potable water supplied to passengers travelling on federally regulated passenger conveyances. This includes trains, ferries, cruise ships, planes and other passenger vehicles that are authorized to carry at least 25 people. While requirements already exist, they are over 60 years old, and a government audit in 2005 actually recommended an overhaul.

The federal government recently launched the National Conservation Plan (NCP). The plan is intended to provide a more coordinated approach to conservation efforts across the country. The plan will include additional investments over five years to secure ecologically-sensitive lands, support voluntary conservation and restoration actions, and strengthen marine and coastal conservation, including new initiatives designed to restore wetlands.

The federal Minister of the Environment recently announced that the Government of Canada will begin to regulate industrial air pollutant emissions through requirements in the proposed Multi-Sector Air Pollutants Regulations.

The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) recently announced that it is developing (via contract) a guidance document for Groundwater Sustainability Assessment Approach (GSAA) for release in November 2014.

Public Health Agency of Canada published in the June 21, 2014 edition of Canada Gazette 1, Human Pathogens and Toxins Regulations (HPTR).

Beaconsfield, Quebec’s city council is calling on the provincial government to adopt Legislation specifically aimed at protecting Quebec’s wetlands.

Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD) announced, April 30, 2014, that a total of $600 million over the next three years has been set aside to fund high priority water diversion and storage projects along the Elbow and Highwood Rivers to reduce the impact of future floods in southern Alberta. Of the $600 million, $325 million is allocated to the Resilience and Mitigation Program (RAMP), which funds projects such as berms, dikes, and riverbank erosion control work. RAMP funding will be available to municipalities across the province.

The Government of Yukon recently announced six new research projects dealing with adaptation and climate change. The new projects complement the Yukon government’s existing adaptation work including research undertaken by Highways and Public Works which is working in partnership with the federal Department of Transportation to evaluate the effects of climate change and permafrost degradation on transportation in Yukon.

The National Water Research Institute (NWRI), a United States nonprofit organization that sponsors projects and programs focused on ensuring safe, reliable sources of water now and for future generations, is pleased to announce that David Sedlak, Ph.D., civil and environmental engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley, will be the twenty-first recipient of the NWRI Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke Prize for excellence in water research.

The Canadian proposal to undertake the development of a Technical Specification on Flushable Products was accepted and supported by 14 member countries of TC 224.

CWWA’s Security & Emergency Management Committee encourages water security experts (members of CWWA) from across the country to join its active group of dedicated members. For a complete representation we would be pleased in having on our board members from Newfoundland, New Brunswick, PEI, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon and Northwest Territories. The Committee is focusing its activities on current and emerging issues pertaining to physical infrastructure protection and cyber security working closely with Public Safety Canada.

CWWA’s Climate Change Committee invites members of the Association interested or involved with climate change issues to join and support its activities and projects. The Committee is currently working on two projects of national importance: establish a Resource Databank and develop a National Survey on water utility preparedness and adaption to climate change impacts. In addition, the Committee is organizing a national workshop under the wings of the 16th Canadian National Drinking Water Conference to be held on October 28, 2014 at the Hilton Lac Leamy, Gatineau, Qubec. We are specifically seeking new members representing the following provinces: Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, Saskatchewan, Yukon and Northwest Territories.

The deadline for Full Paper Submission is extended to July 4, 2014.

AWWA
This week the U.S. Congress approved the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act as part of broader water resources development legislation (H.R. 3080). This is a tremendous accomplishment for AWWA and all of you who supported the WIFIA concept over the years. We expect the bill to be signed by the President soon.

AWWA has released the results of its Water Shortage Preparedness Survey and a report is now available for download. The final report reflects analysis of 485 water utilities’ responses to questions about their practices and policies for water shortage planning and implementation. Drought and periodic water shortages ranked high on the list of issues of importance to utilities in AWWA’s 2014 State of the Water Industry Report. The results of the drought survey are intended to serve as the foundation for discovery and further action by AWWA members.

Water Canada
Wood Buffalo, Alberta launched its water conservation campaign on May 20. The goal of this initiative is multifaceted: to highlight the importance of water and its responsible use, to learn more about water and wastewater systems, and to reduce water consumption.

Water Canada
Costs for the innovative Sechelt Water Resource Centre in Sechelt, British Columbia, will be covered by the federal Gas Tax Fund and the Communities Component of the Building Canada Fund, which will contribute $8 million and $3.2 million respectively. The provincial and federal governments have also committed $1.6 million each to the facility.

Calgary Herald
Environmental charges have been laid against Plains Midstream Canada ULC nearly two years after an oil pipeline failure that spilled nearly half a million litres of sour crude oil into a central Alberta river system.

Calgary Herald
More than a dozen flood mitigation projects are complete in the Bow Valley, but residents — including a prominent water expert — are concerned about what isn’t being done: increasing the size of culverts under the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks.

Edmonton Journal
Should there be more nature conservation areas in the North Saskatchewan region? What air pollution limits should be set for this part of the province? How much land needs to be set aside for off-road vehicle users to enjoy?

Edmonton Journal
The federal and Alberta governments are reviewing better ways to keep birds off toxic tailings ponds in the oilsands region after new research revealed thousands of landings of migrating birds.

Edmonton Journal
Edmonton-based Epcor and four partners have been chosen to design, build and operate a sewage treatment plant in Regina under a public-private partnership.

Leader-Post
If you value your sanity, you would be well advised to stay away from the intersection of Broad Street and Victoria Avenue this week.

Herald News
Hydraulic fracturing would not pose a serious threat to Nova Scotia’s groundwater supply if the contentious extraction process was closely monitored and properly regulated, say two draft reports released Tuesday by an expert panel.

Herald News
There’s still raw sewage flowing into Sydney Harbour, but there will be a lot less of it thanks to a $15.3-million waste-water project expected to be completed this summer.

The Globe and Mail
Gutter politics and smelly debates are hallmarks of British Columbia politics, but in Victoria, the capital city, sewage treatment has been raising a political stink for decades.

Times Colonist
They paved paradise, and put up a flood zone.
Five cities across Canada will see some of their asphalt torn up and replaced with porous brick and gravel this summer to help mitigate the flash flooding that frequently follows extreme rainfall.

The Star.com
It’s almost a year since Calgary’s disastrous flood and many here worry that if it rains heavily at the same time as the mountain snowpack melts it will happen all over again.
But some residents are taking no chances.

The Vancouver Sun
A new project at a Metro Vancouver waste water treatment facility is going to turn waste into gold. Or, more accurately, gas.

NBC New York
Flushable wipes are marketed as an alternative to toilet paper, but city officials say they simply don't break down in the same way and are clogging the sewage system, potentially costing taxpayers for the extra cleanup costs.

Water Canada
The City of Charlottetown water and sewer utility has launched the Take Control program, a new initiative designed to encourage flat-rate water customers to switch to water meters. Incentives are being offered to those who are willing to make the switch.

Water Canada
The Toronto Star reported last week that, of 15,000 household water samples collected by the city over the past six years, 13 per cent contained an unsafe amount of lead.

Water Canada
A nearly completed facility in the District of Sechelt, British Columbia, will blur the line between a botanical garden and wastewater treatment plant.

Water Canada
The Seaterra program will not be continuing with the proposed wastewater treatment plant at McLoughlin Point in Victoria, British Columbia.

Canadian Consulting Engineer
Environmental groups in Ontario are rejoicing that the Federal Court of Canada has ruled to halt a previous environmental approval for four new reactors at the Darlington nuclear power plant.

CBC News
Cybercrime costs the global economy about $445 billion US every year, with the damage to business from the theft of intellectual property exceeding the $160 billion US loss to individuals from hacking, according to research published on June 9.

Calgary Herald
City officials say if high waters flood into Calgary again this spring damage would be significantly less thanks to six, now-complete, major mitigation projects along river banks.

The Vancouver Sun
With the clock ticking down for his government's decision on Northern Gateway, Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford said Monday there have been significant strides forward on pipeline and marine traffic safety in talks between Ottawa and First Nations.

Water Canada
With the 2013 Calgary and Toronto floods still fresh in our minds, and the bone-chilling cold of the polar vortex lingering well into spring, Canadians have been walloped over the head with the realities of extreme weather. But rather than adapt and protect themselves from the potentially disastrous effects of this new reality, Canadians are instead opting to do nothing.