The delivery of large infrastructure capital projects has long been plagued by delay, extra cost, and less than optimal deliverables. For just as long, fingers have been pointed at the owner, client, project manager, consultant, contractor, supplier, or purchasing department.

The UN General Assembly sustainable development goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to “achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. Not only did the pandemic take the limelight off the SDGs in most countries, but it also removed these goals in the short term from partial and general planning at both national and international levels.

PEI farmers often see water and nutrients running through well-draining soils quickly during rain events. Sometimes, water drains too quickly for farmers to make good use of it for their crops and animals, and the runoff can affect nearby streams and rivers. One easy and cost-effective solutions solution involves constructing wetlands on farmland.

A recent report describes changes to the aquatic ecosystem health, furthers the understanding of conditions and developments in the Mackenzie River Basin. This is the first time this report has been developed following a...

In June of 2021, Barclay Construction approached Layfield Group Ltd. requesting assistance on a shoreline restoration project for Ontario Power Generation within the Gull Bay First Nation community in Gull Bay, Ontario. The project required that approximately 1.2 km of shoreline be isolated from Lake Nipigon, with a watertight barrier to prevent water from interrupting construction efforts and preventing construction runoff from entering the fishing waters offshore. It would need to be in place for approximately four to six months.

The task of industrial pipe cleaning typically falls to third party cleaning companies, who come to facilities with a vacuum truck and perform the work periodically, unless emergency debris removal is required. Industrial plants cannot afford production downtime, so contractors rely on high-performance nozzles to get the job done quickly and reliably. Using the right nozzle and technique can be the difference between cleaning out a pipe within 20 minutes or having it take hours, days, or even fail completely.

The challenging nature of wastewater and sludge, such as its high viscosity and high fouling potential, means that it is important to choose the right type of heat exchanger to reduce costs, maximize energy efficiency, and maintain heat exchanger operational performance.

Although treatment plants are meant to handle all sorts of wastewater, incoming oil contamination still poses a considerable threat to a facility’s operations. These oil spill incidents can occur any time and without warning. If not handled properly, they can lead to contaminated wastewater flowing into natural environments.

The highly corrosive nature of sulfuric acid tests the limits of today’s storage systems. Any company that stores sulfuric acid needs to be acutely aware of the dangers that the chemical presents to equipment and personnel. When storing sulfuric acid, it is important to verify the hoop stress rating and understand the specific gravity ratings to make sure the resins used in the storage tank provide a margin of safety. Along with the weight of the chemical, its oxidative properties must also be considered.

One remediation project in central Canada serves as a model case for the growing multitude of facilities that are finding PFAS contamination. More than five years into the performance monitoring phase, it is the world’s first demonstrated in situ treatment of PFAS.

When a large, privately-owned sewer utility company wanted to improve service for their 16,500+ customers, they realized that digitizing their business processes would be the key to increasing efficiency and maximizing asset life cycles.

There are three primary potential risks every time a train laden with hazardous materials pulls away from the depot: accident, mechanical failure, and operator error. Despite the next-generation design and notable improvements in the operation of railcars and their ancillary components, the high-level training that rail personnel receive, the attention paid to guaranteeing that the railway infrastructure is in good working order, and stricter regulations governing the transport of hazardous materials, there is still a chance that a hazmat release could occur.

Flocculant and coagulation polymers are used in the removal of solid particles. Flocculants separate solid content in the wastewater from the liquid content. A coagulant combines small particles to form larger chain particles. These polymers change the charge of the particles, so that they will combine rather than repel other particles.

Purolator chose Greyter Water Systems’ water management solution to help manage water efficiently at its new courier and shipping centre in Etobicoke, Ontario. Their rainwater harvesting solution captures rainwater from the roof and treats it to supply 32 toilets and 16 urinals for up to 1,000 employees daily.

Responding to a chlorine gas leak can be difficult with a room full of chlorine gas, and the advisable solution is to close all of the container valves and ventilate the room to reduce the chlorine concentration. Of course, by this time the amount of leaked chlorine gas may be significant, eliminating ventilation as an option. The event becomes a reportable incident, that now needs to be dealt with by first responders and reported to the appropriate authorities. Halogen Valve Systems Inc. designs and manufactures automatic emergency valve closure systems designed to enhance the safety of chlorine gas installations.

Treating a lagoon with Waste Go bioaugmentation can restore its health, mitigate costs, and postpone dredging for lengthy periods of time. However, eventually, even the healthiest of wastewater lagoons will require dredging as their capacity for biodegraded sludge will be reached. Sludge that has been properly treated with Waste Go will meet or exceed all environmental standards, thus making it readily available for disposal without further treatment or penalties, saving the treatment facility substantial costs.

With treatment plants, their raw intake source water quality can change rapidly and impact treatment performance. These water quality events are not typically caught by traditional sampling methods or sensors in time to be managed efficiently. Always on, low-maintenance water quality monitoring can provide better protection from incoming water quality issues by alerting operators to key events in real time.

Last March, after Nova Scotia identified nearly 70 sites it plans to assess and potentially remediate, officials have now added five more sites to its long list of areas contaminated during the province’s first...

The federal government is investing $12.6 million through the Green Municipal Fund to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste while improving the quality of water in eight communities across Quebec. Administered through the Federation...

Three Saskatchewan municipalities are upgrading wastewater infrastructure with a combined investment of more than $2.1 million through the federal Green Municipal Fund (GMF). The investments, administered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, will aim to...

Following a two-year pilot project, the City of Hamilton launched a program to proactively detect water leaks in underground pipes in early 2021. That year, the program helped to locate a total of 109...

The Ontario City of Barrie has approved a Stormwater Climate Action Fund to improve its resiliency against climate change, mitigate flooding, protect Lake Simcoe, and, starting in 2023, shift the costs of its stormwater...

Underemployment, underrepresentation, and pay gaps continue to be challenges, but Black Engineers of Canada (BEC) is striving to create a sense of community and new opportunities to raise visibility for Black students and professionals...

The Ontario Environment Industry Association, better known as ONEIA, has released a new report that recommends ways to create climate-resilient infrastructure within the province. ONEIA, which represents the province’s environment and cleantech companies, formed a...

The City of Winnipeg is considering signaling to bidders that it wants to see Indigenous workers and other under-represented groups as a key part of the labour supply for the next phase of its...

After COVID-19 halted the ability of Yukon University students to visit local water treatment plants for on-site training, new funding has allowed the school to acquire a mobile water treatment trailer for hands-on operator...

An international team of scientists identified significant quantities of nanoscale plastic particles in decades-old ice samples from Greenland and Antarctica as part of a new study that suggests plastic pollution is more widespread than...

As North American city planners increasingly adopt “green infrastructure,” some researchers say it’s time to narrow the scope of its chameleon-like definition, so that everyone can at least be on the same page. A new...