The Canada Water Agency is spending $4.5 million for 39 new freshwater projects that range from efforts to combat runoff pollution through rain gardens on Vancouver Island to creating an open data platform for groundwater quality and level data in Toronto.
Thirty-four projects are under the EcoAction program, a cost-shared program that leverages partnerships for collective freshwater action. It requires organizations outside of the federal government to fund at least half of the total project value. The program targets freshwater quality, ecosystem health, water literacy, clean technologies, circular economy opportunities and freshwater data collection across Canada.
Twenty-three of the EcoAction projects are for community-led initiatives and 11 are for sustainability and innovation. Five projects fall under the Fraser River Freshwater Ecosystem Initiative, which supports projects that advance science and knowledge, collaboration and engagement, and on-the-ground actions to reduce nutrients and contaminants in the Fraser River basin.
“Today’s major investment is a powerful reminder of what we can achieve when we bring communities together around one shared goal: protecting our water,” announced Julie Dabrusin, Minister responsible for the Canada Water Agency. “These projects not only advance sustainable water management practices but also drive clean economic growth and innovative solutions — helping build a stronger, more resilient Canada for all.’’
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Among the new projects is a concentrated focus on habitat restoration, monitoring, and community engagement in a series of First Nation communities. In addition to mitigating invasive species in these areas, funding is also directed to nature-based, scalable water treatment solutions such as floating treatment wetlands in remote Albertan Indigenous communities that face ongoing drinking water challenges.
B.C.’s Cheam First Nation, for instance, welcomed funding under the Fraser River Freshwater Ecosystem Initiative to preserve and restore the diverse ecosystem associated with Hope Slough. The First Nation’s environmental manager, Roxanna Kooistra, says the waterway has been degraded by pollution, but $200,000 in funding will expand long-term water quality monitoring, strengthen Indigenous stewardship and youth leadership, and enable partnerships with local farmers on a pilot project that showcases nature-based solutions to improve fish habitat and farming conditions.
“This project helps our community renew its relationship with the watershed and uphold our sacred obligation to care for the land and water for future generations,” Kooistra said.
British Columbia Conservation Foundation
Project: Mitigating Tire Wear Toxicant & Stormwater Runoff Pollution Through Rain Gardens on Vancouver Island
Funding Amount: $99,495 over three years
Project Description: This project will support the construction of rain gardens in collaboration with community groups across the east coast of Vancouver Island. It will also reduce tire wear toxicants and other stormwater runoff pollutants from making their way directly into local fish-bearing waterways.
AquaAction
Project: Stormwater Runoff Depollution – Wildfires in Jasper National Park
Funding Amount: $200,000 over two years
Location: Jasper, Alberta
Project Description: In collaboration with Parks Canada, the proponent will work to improve freshwater quality by reducing hydrocarbon contamination in Jasper’s stormwater using RHST Industries’ WaterPearls technology.
Conservation Ontario
Project: Conservation Authority Long-Term Monitoring Data Standardization Initiative
Funding Amount: $ 199,400 over two years
Location: Newmarket, Ontario
Project Description: The proponent will hire a data science project coordinator to standardize data collection, storage, schemas, and terminology used by Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities for key freshwater monitoring datasets. They will also make the data publicly available through open data.
City of Kelowna
Project: Collaborative Monitoring and Early-Warning System for Harmful Algal Blooms – Enhancing Drinking Water Safety, Climate Resilience, and Indigenous Stewardship in the Okanagan Basin
Funding Amount: $200,000 over two years
Location: Kelowna, British Columbia
Project Description: This project will establish a standardized algae and cyanobacteria monitoring and response network across the Okanagan Basin, in collaboration with the Westbank First Nation.
Data Stream Initiative
Project: Unearthing Groundwater Data and Making it Discoverable for Freshwater Protection
Funding Amount: $200,000 over two years
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Project Description: This project will expand the national, online, DataStream open data platform to include groundwater quality and level data. It will also foster a network of groundwater data contributors to enhance knowledge related to groundwater management.
Queen’s University
Project: Modernizing Canada’s Lagoon Infrastructure: Clean, Scalable Nanobubble-Assisted Treatment for Freshwater Health and Climate Resilience
Location: Kingston, Ontario
Funding Amount: $199,998 over two years
Project Description: This project will develop, optimize, and pilot an innovative, low-energy, climate-resilient, nanobubble-assisted wastewater treatment technology. The technology is specifically designed to enhance the performance of lagoon-based systems across Canada.
Tula Foundation
Project: Free Flow Canada: Innovating Tools for Better Access to Freshwater Flow Data Across Canada
Location: Victoria, British Columbia
Funding Amount: $68,898 over two years
Project Description: This project will enhance access to river flow data and support informed water stewardship across Canada. It will do so by creating and maintaining open-source tools, including an app that uses watershed characteristics to estimate flows in un-gauged areas and compare them to historical trends. The project will also involve training and support for data contributors and users.
Xatoms Inc.
Project: Canadian Field Validation of Low-Cost Photocatalytic Water Purification Technology for Freshwater Sustainability
Funding Amount: $200,000 over two years
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Project Description: This project will test Xatoms’ solar-powered, AI-designed, photocatalytic water purification technology at sites across Canada. A photocatalyst is a light-activated material that breaks down bacteria and harmful contaminants in water through a chemical reaction, without requiring chemicals, complex infrastructure, or electrical input.
Click here to view the full list of 39 new projects.
