Alberta set for interbasin transfer as communities added to regional waterline
A new bill introduced in the Alberta Legislature proposes to construct one of the province’s longest regional waterline connections, to end drinking water quality...
Growing anger over pinhole leaks in Thunder Bay, pipes problem also seen in U.S.
For municipal officials in Thunder Bay who may have browsed water news over the summer, accounts of pinhole leaks in the copper pipes of...
B.C. district switches out lake drinking water source over rise in algal blooms
Flooding and unusual weather patterns likely played a role in the unusually high amount of algae within Kalamalka Lake this year, states B.C.’s Regional...
Fredericton weighs optics, impact around water shut-offs during pandemic
One thousand residents in the City of Fredericton are at risk of having their water shut off by city officials, after they fell behind...
Ontario’s Neskantaga community evacuates over water reservoir contamination
Under a 25-year boil-water advisory — Canada’s longest — northwestern Ontario’s Neskantaga First Nation says it has now evacuated the majority of its residents...
WWF report warns of data gaps in 60% of Canada’s sub-watersheds
A new report from World Wildlife Fund Canada warns that missing monitoring data from 100 of the country’s 176 sub-watersheds may be obscuring threats.
That...
US EPA launches initiative, grants to build future water workforce
The U.S. has released a new plan to recruit and retain the next generation of its water workforce through planning, training and collaboration across...
Newfoundland town fined $50K for chlorine leaks into local river
The Newfoundland and Labrador Town of Baie Verte has been ordered to pay a $50,000 fine after pleading guilty to discharges of highly-chlorinated water...
Manitoba audit finds many water systems do not have properly certified operator
A Manitoba audit has found that 20% of known water systems in the province do not have an operating licence and nearly half do...
Halton becomes first Canadian municipality to win AWWA drinking water quality award
A commitment to improvement at water purification plants in Burlington, Burloak and Oakville has led to Halton Region, Ontario, being selected as the first...
Using ROVs to inspect water storage tanks offers many benefits
Benefits of using an ROV for water tank inspections go beyond their technical basics.
Managing invasive aquatic species starts with good data
Managing hydrilla through delineation with the right mix of traditional and leading-edge technology.
Hamilton reduces non-revenue water loss with a proactive leak detection program
Due to success of the pilot, the city will be putting out a request for technology to establish a long-term proactive leak detection program to ensure that all water distribution systems are assessed annually.
Harbour expansion project created numerous environmental challenges
The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project has been in the works for years. By deepening the 14-metre-wide river channel by 1.5 metres, ships will be...
Real-time monitoring can quantify the amount of overflow and water quality
Anticipated technical and financial challenges have encouraged municipalities to develop real-time monitoring systems that can evaluate the current infrastructure, optimize development in combined sewer systems and control water pollution.
Managing unused potable water systems during the pandemic
A water system that is in a low-flow condition presents a potential for the development of biofilm and the amplification of potentially harmful bacteria.
Charlottetown reducing water use by 13% through metering, conservation
Despite the population of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, continuing to grow, city officials say the introduction of water meters is significantly reducing local water...
B.C. and Alberta cleantech water projects funded by SDTC
Two major water technology projects are getting substantial funding injections from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) as the clean technology (cleantech) market remains on...
Water challenges continue in B.C.’s Prince Rupert as residents await new infrastructure
As residents of the British Columbia port city of Prince Rupert wait for the municipality’s aging water infrastructure to be replaced following last year’s...
Fashion and textile industries need greater focus on water pollution, report warns
A new report warns that the apparel and textiles sector has a vital role to play in reducing water pollution, but less than half...
EPCOR, Alberta First Nations sign water agreement in ‘spirit of reconciliation’
Alberta’s Enoch Cree First Nation has signed an agreement with water utility EPCOR to collaborate on the development and implementation of local water projects...
Lake Diefenbaker takes spotlight in new report that touts benefits of expanded irrigation
A new report is endorsing a series of irrigation projects that would see multiple users competing for resources available through Saskatchewan’s Lake Diefenbaker.
Saskatchewan's $4...
School districts discover Legionella as stagnant water systems recommissioned
Students may be returning to school this fall in some areas of North America armed with not only masks to protect against COVID-19, but...
Michigan settles Flint lead water crisis, assures nearly $600M going to affected children
A new $600-million preliminary civil settlement announced in Flint, Michigan, will see the state pay some 80% of the money to children who were...
Microplastic pollution in Atlantic Ocean exceeds earlier findings
A new study estimates that upward of 21 million metric tons of three common types of microplastic pollution exist in just the top 200...
Cities may find watering restrictions not as effective as assumed, study says
When researchers at the University of Waterloo analyzed more than a decade of data from 10 mid-sized Canadian cities that restrict outdoor water use...
Stantec leads digital study to help water utilities explore technology upgrades
A new global collaborative study helmed by consultant engineering firm Stantec aims to help water utilities identify aspects of their practices that may be...
Alberta town fined $10K, former operator given house arrest over falsifying water samples
After facing a series of water-related charges under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, the Town of Bow Island, Alberta, and a former employee...
New Brunswick secures wastewater upgrade funding as officials warn of algal bloom
Provincial, federal and municipal officials have announced $32.3 million in funding to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant operated by the Greater Shediac Sewerage Commission...
Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities say stimulus water restoration projects can kick-start economy
The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative says that up to 40 jobs could be created per million dollars spent on erosion control and infrastructure.
Alberta gets another funding injection for array of water projects
A series of new projects will be underway in Alberta, ranging from a new carbon dioxide injector pump, to the expansion of wastewater treatment...
Saskatchewan city completes third phase of major drinking water upgrades project
Saskatchewan residents in the City of Estevan can expect “noticeably improved, less hard” drinking water, municipal officials explained, as they unveiled the third and...
California water bottler fined $5M for illegally storing arsenic wastewater
A California-based water bottler has been fined USD $5 million for illegally storing and transporting hazardous waste created from filtering arsenic out of spring...
Water resilience: The missing piece in dealing with climate change
What has been missing from the discussion is the idea of resilience, defined as how easily and quickly a system can recover from extreme weather events, whether these events involve too much water or too little.
Finding the right dosing pump for water and wastewater treatment processes
Both diaphragm or peristaltic chemical metering/dosing pumps are positive displacement pumps, but they work in very different ways. A question often asked is which of these pump types will be the most effective and reliable?
Cutting the risk of Legionnaires’ disease from shuttered water systems
The continued growth of Legionnaires’ disease is the result of the lack of a water management plan and other factors such as environmental and epidemiological.
Environmental DNA will enhance environmental surveys for 500 Canadian lakes
Using eDNA in environmental biomonitoring studies can improve accuracy of surveys, reduce costs and provide more time-effective workflows. The potential utility of this molecular approach can have great implications in many fields and industries.
SCADA communications network enables remote operations in Wood Buffalo
The project was developed in three stages. Stage one was to develop a SCADA master plan for the municipality, including developing a network plan for every water and wastewater facility.
U.S. close to finalizing replacement of up to 10 million lead water pipes
The U.S. House of Representatives has authorized USD$4.5 billion for the replacement of up to 10 million lead water distribution pipes nationwide.
From 2015 to...
Canada invests $8.3M in fishing gear removal to fight marine plastic pollution
Plastic debris that ends up in Canada’s waters from fishermen plying their trade has become a major marine litter problem known as ghost gear,...
Ramara outsources water, wastewater services to OCWA
Ramara Township, just northeast of Barrie, Ontario, has voted in support of outsourcing the community’s water and wastewater services to the Ontario Clean Water...
New funding means even better news for Ontario’s resurgent Lake Simcoe
Following the release of a new 10-year positive milestone report on the health of Lake Simcoe, Ontario’s government is investing $581,000 in four new...
Alberta loses access to Milk River irrigation water following U.S. canal failure
Following a U.S. infrastructure failure in northern Montana, water levels in Alberta’s Milk River will likely be too low this summer for activities like canoeing or kayaking.
Alberta grants $150M for 55 water, wastewater projects in small municipalities
$137 million is allocated for improvements to water supply, treatment facilities, upgrades to wastewater services such as lagoons, berms, sewage treatment.
Changes to Ontario water taking policy now open for public input
Ontario’s government has officially posted proposals in need of public input pertaining to changes around the ways water is taken and managed in the province.
New WEF report analyzes global investment gaps around risks to water security
Report identifies water as a global systemic risk that could have an annual investment gap of $670 billion in relation to water security and water investment opportunities
Nutrient kit engages community to take lead on algal blooms
The University of Saskatchewan’s Global Institute for Water Security has designed a new communitybased sampling app kit to engage citizens, farmers and water quality...
New water tanks help Saint John deliver abundant and clean water
Residents on the east side of Saint John, New Brunswick, were all too familiar with boil water orders. For decades, the city drew water from Latimer Lake and chlorinated and pumped it directly to the distribution system.
Unlocking data from water, wastewater and stormwater systems
Using data from hydrological systems, organizations can properly account for and appropriately allocate water resources while minimizing impacts on the environment.
Drinking water source protection in Ontario 20 years after Walkerton
Local committees were established to bring about actions to protect sources of municipal residential drinking water systems across Ontario. They developed source protection plan policies using scientific data, including soil type, watershed time of travel of contaminants, depth of aquifer, etc., to delineate drinking water vulnerable areas.
Atmospheric-hydrothermal modelling platforms offer new opportunities
Golder helps Bruce Power separate local heating effects of the plant’s operations from the variable lake-wide natural factors that affect water temperature, providing accurate data for discussions with regulators, local Indigenous communities and other stakeholder groups concerned about possible influences of the facility’s heat profile.
Reducing the environmental impacts of industrial cooling water discharges
With the demand for water accelerating globally, especially for power generation, significant emphasis has been placed on developing technologies to reduce water use and improve the recycling of water resources.
Billions spent on Great Lakes restoration making progress on Areas Of Concern
A new study of pollution prevention for the Great Lakes found that an estimated $22.7 billion has been spent between 1985 and 2019 on the cleanup and restoration of all U.S. and Canadian areas of concern.
Global Water Futures hosts panel to discuss creation of Canada Water Agency
Many leading water experts currently see Canada at a crossroads in the emerging water-climate crisis and believe that the creation of a Canada Water Agency could deliver water security if collaboration could exist alongside a common vision for the future.
U.S. water utilities to spend $3 billion on PFAS reduction by 2030, report finds
While there is currently no enforceable federal limit on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in U.S. drinking water, individual states are moving forward with...
New Raven hydrologic modelling software released
A decade in the making, version 3 of Raven, an open-source hydrologic modelling platform used by a number of flood and reservoir forecasting agencies...
U.S.-Canada advisory group joins IJC efforts on Lake Ontario outflow review
Following concerns about extreme wet conditions that caused record floods, a new public advisory group will be working with water committee managers at the...
Michigan dams fail in wake of violation history, lost license
After a massive rainstorm surged through Michigan last week causing two hydro dams to fail, residents engulfed in a flooding emergency are gradually learning...
Billions spent on Great Lakes restoration making progress on areas of concern
A new study of pollution prevention for the Great Lakes found that an estimated $22.7 billion has been spent between 1985 and 2019 on...
USask Nutrient App kit engages community to take lead on algal blooms
The University of Saskatchewan’s Global Institute for Water Security has designed a new community-based sampling app kit to engage citizens, farmers and water quality...
Global Water Futures hosts panel to discuss creation of Canada Water Agency
Many leading water experts currently see Canada at a crossroads in the emerging water-climate crisis and believe that the creation of a Canada Water...
CWWA releases water guidance documents for reopening of buildings
As governments plan for the gradual reopening of the economy, the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) has released guidance documents advising water utilities...
Alberta ice jam floods displace thousands as water plant begins decontamination
Evacuation orders that impacted thousands of residents are ending for some in northern Alberta as most river water levels that had surged from melting...
Four weeks of confinement flew by, says Brandon water crew who lived on site
The Manitoba City of Brandon’s mayor is praising water workers who have been sacrificing time with their families during the pandemic to live on-site...
EPA secures new Great Lakes funding, details nutrient runoff projects
The EPA released an action plan to fight nutrient runoff and announced $20 million in additional funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
Study examines ‘extreme water stagnation’ in buildings shuttered by pandemic
Researchers at Indiana’s Purdue University have begun a field study to determine how water quality could change in shuttered buildings like schools, sports venues...
City adopts preventative water loss program with acoustic leak detection technology
As Cambridge, Ontario, grapples with increasing demands on its ageing water mains, the city’s physical water loss is higher than the national average.
Water well drilling takes careful preparation and experience
Drilling for clean, uncontaminated water can be challenging. From operating the rig to understanding how to address circulation loss or a caved-in borehole, there is a lot to consider. Having the answers to these common questions prior to the bit hitting the ground will help make for a smooth drilling operation and a positive experience.
Automatic self-cleaning filters allow Alberta county to stretch its potable water supply
Facing increasing demands for for potable water, Northern Sunrise County initiated a program to lower the demand on potable water for non-potable uses.
What treatment professionals need to know about the coronavirus and the water cycle
With the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, utilities are looking for resources to deal with relevant issues related to water and wastewater treatment.
WEF messaging toolkit offers ‘thank you’ to water workers on frontline
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) is looking to highlight the importance of water services during the coronavirus pandemic by releasing a “toolkit” of graphics...
New First Nations water operator internships underway in Ontario
A new 18-month drinking water treatment and environmental water management internship program for young Indigenous adults near the Manitoba-Ontario border is now being funded...
COVID-19 leads San Diego County water plant workers to live on-site
As California, the most populous state in the U.S., ordered its nearly 40 million residents to stay home to prevent the spread of COVID-19,...
COVID-19 resources for waste and water professionals
Various industry water organizations across North America are creating online resources to keep water and sanitation practitioners and providers armed with relevant knowledge about...
Report provides road map to improve Legionnaires’ disease response and conserve water
A new policy report, "Electronic Registration Systems for Cooling Towers – Improving Public Health and Sustainability Outcomes", published by the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) proposes...
Lac Seul First Nation opens water treatment plant after 17-year water advisory
Northwestern Ontario’s Lac Seul First Nation recently celebrated the grand opening of a new water treatment plant in Kejick Bay, ending a 17-year drinking...
Water Research Foundation accepting pre-proposals for the Unsolicited Research Program
The Water Research Foundation (WRF) announced it is now accepting pre-proposals for the Unsolicited Research Program. The program funds novel, transformative research and innovation...
Canada lays out case for plastics ban with new science assessment of harm
With Canada’s single-use plastics ban on track for 2021, a new federal science report aims to back up the landmark move with hard evidence...
Thunder Bay drops corrosion inhibitor from water system following pipe leaks
Ontario City of Thunder Bay officials say they saw increased reports of pinhole leaks in pipes after they introduced sodium hydroxide in 2018 as...
Mobile district metered area testing helps cut watermain leak losses
A mobile testing unit designed to accurately and reliably measure minimum night flow into specific sectors of water distribution systems has been assembled, tested and deployed at several locations in York Region and the City of Ottawa.
Lessons learned while replacing aging watermain
City of Vaughan, Ont., and Chisholm, Fleming and Associates maximizes use of trenchless construction to replace two-kilometre section of badly deteriorated watermain.
The search for lower cost water sources in the Arctic
The search continues for technology with lower costs for water systems in the far north, including decentralized wastewater technology and water re-use technology.
Automation helps maintain water tank levels and prevent freezing in colder climates
The two key factors for water storage are to ensure the tank maintains the correct level and that there is water turnover to protect water quality. In colder climates, low tank turnover can lead to water freezing within it.
Addressing Iqaluit’s water emergency with innovative engineering, ecosystem protection
At risk of an over-winter water shortage each year, Iqaluit, Nunavut, has begun to study the feasibility of additional sources and storage of water, with the aim of implementing a permanent additional supply to Lake Geraldine by 2026.
Cloud-based alarm and monitoring systems cut costs, improve productivity
Cloud-based alarms and monitoring systems for water and wastewater treatment infrastructure can span a larger service area at a lower cost compared to traditional landlines.
Dawson City’s new water plant designed with resilience in mind
By Matthew Lozie
Home of the Yukon Gold Rush, Dawson City is a community of less than 2,000 people, However, this nearly doubles in population...
First Nations drinking water advisories lifted and added with new year underway
Recently for Canadian First Nation reserves, two short-term and one long-term drinking water advisory were lifted, while the status of three ongoing drinking water...
U.S. PFAS Bill passes House, but faces major hurdle in Senate
The House of Representatives passed the PFAS Action Act, to protect the environment and clean up areas affected by PFAS, but it must now pass the Senate.
Manitoba shifts to new system that allows for better watershed planning
Manitoba’s new Watershed Districts Act has transitioned 18 provincial conservation districts to 14 new watershed districts with boundaries based on watersheds.
Proclaimed on January 1,...
Understanding the effects of melting glaciers on drinking water
A new project at the University of Alberta aims to provide insight into the current and future quality of drinking water in western Canada,...
Cornwall says cities need protection from Ontario legislation that could increase water contamination risk
The Ontario City of Cornwall wants municipalities to be legally protected if the provincial government makes a decision that could negatively impact water quality.
Councillor...
Region of Peel working to update Water & Wastewater Master Plan
Ontario’s Region of Peel has initiated a study of a new Water and Wastewater Master Plan for its lake-based systems to update its 2013...
SaskWater buys Meadow Lake water treatment plant as part of service agreement
SaskWater and the Saskatchewan City of Meadow Lake have signed a water supply agreement that includes the sale of the City’s water treatment plant...
Water worker labour relations take divergent paths in Saskatchewan
As Saskatchewan’s commercial Crown water utility, SaskWater, ratifies a new deal, Saskatoon water workers with CUPE Local 47 have rejected the latest offer from...
Ontario to extend water bottling moratorium and further review impacts
The Ontario government intends to extend its moratorium on water bottling permits by nine months as it looks to have its newly-finished water extraction...
Investigating disinfection byproducts for Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation
Working with the community and the OFNTSC, the Walkerton Clean Water Centre investigated treatment processes to control disinfection byproducts in drinking water, such as trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids.
Pre-treatment can optimize membrane filtration
Without adequate pre-treatment of the water entering pressure-driven membrane systems, such systems can be susceptible to irreparable damage from large particles, and water that is not adequately pre-filtered can cause excessive membrane fouling, leading to sub-par water production, as well as costly, premature replacement and unscheduled production downtime.
Micro bubble diffuser lowers high manganese levels in rural Alberta drinking water
Manganese levels have risen significantly for the Municipal District of Opportunity #17, in northern Alberta, and chemical treatment along with microfiltration membrane treatment was unable to reduce them to the desired limits. Learn how a new micro bubble diffuser helped drop manganese levels within days, exceeding new federal guidelines.
Complexity of water, wastewater plants creates opportunity for innovation and cost savings
Municipalities have to continue implementation and operation of needed services, even on reduced budgets. Conventional solutions are often preferred and selected because they are proven and safe, however, they can be more expensive than new, innovative solutions that are proven but less known.
Canada’s water supply sector under fire once again
The December editorial comment by Steve Davey looks at recent reporting around lead levels in Canada's drinking water. It also discusses ongoing efforts by municipalities and utilities to reduce exposure to lead in drinking water.
Latest Articles
International water companies partner to make wastewater treatment greener
Three major water utility companies in Denmark, Australia and the U.K. are partnering to create a new generation of sustainable wastewater management for customers,...
