WEFTEC 2023 set to honour three future-focused Canadian water utilities

Canada will have three first-time water utilities honoured through the Utility of the Future Today program in October at WEFTEC 2023 in Chicago.

The Water Environment Federation’s annual exhibition and technical conference, taking place September 30 – October 3 in Chicago, will include first-time WEFTEC honourees that are benefiting their communities and inspiring the water sector through innovative, future-focused, transformational programs.

The Canadian honourees include Toronto Water for its work in energy generation and recovery; the Ontario Clean Water Agency for its work in partnering and engagement; and EPCOR Water Services Inc. for the successful use of beneficial biosolids at the Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant in Edmonton.

A total of 47 utilities across North America will be recognized at WEFTEC 2023. 

“The Utility of the Future Today program helps us mark our progress in meeting the changing needs of the communities we serve as we deliver on a sustainable future that prioritizes resilience through a strategy of resource conservation and recovery,” announced Todd Swingle, CEO and executive director of the Toho Water Authority, which has been honored six times by the WEFTEC program.

Launched in 2016, The Utility of the Future Today program is judged by a panel of experts made up of utility professionals, general managers, and water experts. At WEFTEC 2023 they will honour water utilities that are “reimagining community partnership and engagement, watershed stewardship, and recovery of resources such as water, energy, and nutrients,” according to The Water Environment Federation (WEF).

Utility of the Future Today is a partnership of WEF, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, the Water Research Foundation, the WateReuse Association, and the U.S. Water Alliance. The program is supported by advisory partners, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.