Not only is one out of 10 American Water Works Association (AWWA) members from Canada, those members also made quite the splash at the Association’s Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE23) in Toronto, where they won several notable awards.
An estimated 10,000 water professionals from throughout the world gathered June 11-14 at the Enercare Centre in Toronto. The Canadian contingent earned honours in a range of categories from the “Best of the Best Taste Test” for tap water, as well as awards for innovation, recruiting, landmark preservation, and public communications.
Coming off last year’s event in Texas, the AWWA even planned a U.S. vs. Canada hockey matchup, including teams representing the Illinois and Ontario Sections of the AWWA. They faced off in the “No Water, No Hockey” match benefiting AWWA’s philanthropic arm, Water Equation.
“Water is important, even when it’s frozen,” joked AWWA CEO David LaFrance in a promotional video for the Toronto event, where the AWWA will return in 2029.
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Eddy gives a warm welcome to all of the players and attendees at the No Water… No Hockey game!#ACE23 #AWWA #OWWA #Toronto #americanwaterworksassociation #ontariowaterworksassociation #waterworks pic.twitter.com/GIZBttFesl
— OWWA (@OWWA1) June 11, 2023
The theme of this year’s event was “The Future of Water is 2050“. Anishinaabe Indigenous rights and water advocate Autumn Peltier from the Wikwemikong First Nation on Manitoulin Island opened ACE23’s general session by providing a land acknowledgment and sharing her personal water story. “The water needs all of you, and we all need water,” she told attendees. “Water is life.”
On Tap
The New Brunswick City of Miramichi that won the Best of the Best Water Taste Test at ACE23. The community of nearly 19,000 residents is the largest city in northern New Brunswick. With 4,500 service connections, 175 kilometres of watermains, and one water treatment plant, the area operates three separate water systems sourced from 19 active ground wells. Fifteen of those wells are fed directly into the distribution system and disinfected by chlorine.
Receiving the Best Tasting Tap Water trophy in person were Darren Row, Miramich’s director of engineering, and Jay Shanahan, the municipality’s director of public works, both pictured above.
Innovation
Another prestigious win for Canada came for the Ontario Regional Municipality of York’s Ranin Nseir, recipient of the AWWA Innovation Award, which is designed to “inspire and implement innovative thinking and best practices” within the water industry. Nseir, project manager of inflow and infiltration reduction in York, won the honour for her part on the path towards reducing inflow and infiltration by 40 million litres per day in the York Durham Sewer System by 2031. The region’s long-term flow monitoring program has 70 rain gauges and 290 flow monitors in wastewater systems.
Hydrant Hysteria
Canadians also had a strong showing in the annual “Hydrant Hysteria” competition in which two-person teams assemble a fire hydrant as quickly as possible. In the women’s competition, the Ontario Region of Peel placed first with a total assembly time of 1 minute and 51 seconds. Peel has more than 27,000 fire hydrants across Brampton, Mississauga, and Caledon. Toronto placed third in the women’s competition with a time of 2 minutes and 20 seconds.
Public Communications
Metro Vancouver’s public communications team took home top honours for fostering and supporting the development of public outreach programs and integrating public affairs as a core element of utility planning and management. AWWA states that the award is intended to “encourage utilities to incorporate public outreach into their operating plans, as well as to provide examples of successful public outreach programs and best practices.”
Halifax Water won top honours for the category in 2021.
Recruitment
Clara Shea of AWWA’s Atlantic Canada Section won the Zenno A. Gorder Award for recruiting the most new members. Shea is the executive director of the Atlantic Canada Water and Wastewater Association based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. AWWA staff tallies and analyzes the total number of members recruited on a calendar year basis to determine the top recruiter, who receives a walnut plaque commemorating their achievement.
Water Landmarks
ACE23 honoured two Ontario cities for their effective preservation of sites at least 50 years old that have had a “direct and significant relationship with water supply, treatment, distribution, or technological development.”
The City of Guelph was recognized for its Waterwork Engine House and Pumping Station built in 1879, while the City of Hamilton was honoured for its first waterworks built in the 1850s.
According to the City of Guelph’s list of Designated Heritage Properties, the stone engine house was “originally only intended for fire protection,” but “the excavation of the pumping station changed the purpose of the waterworks when a spring was struck yielding a large supply of uncontaminated water which the Waterworks Commission believed could be used for domestic purposes.” The Engine House was designated as a protected property in 1997 under the Ontario Heritage Act.
The Hamilton Waterworks was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1997 because “it is an early, rare surviving example of a Victorian industrial building complex that is both architecturally and functionally largely intact,” states Parks Canada. It was designed by prominent Canadian engineer Thomas C. Keefer.
ACE is the longest-running water conference in the world, having first convened in 1881. Next year’s event is scheduled for Anaheim, California.
