Submitted by Sandra Cooke, Director, Communities and Climate

CWN has advanced action on several water and climate-related initiatives since September 2024. We are advancing collaboration in the municipal water sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by launching a new project funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada. We have also begun to investigate approaches for integrating adaptation planning into long-term municipal water infrastructure and water management projects, and continue to work to support research on water availability and land suitability for crop production as our climate changes.

Building a roadmap to reduce GHGs in the municipal water sector

Based on insights shared during a long-running CWN strategic sharing group, many municipalities are in the early stages of inventorying GHG emissions such as methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide. Inventories like these enable utility managers to develop targeted strategies to reduce environmental impact and achieve sustainability goals. Major GHG emission sources in municipal water include biological treatment processes, energy consumption and biosolids handling and disposal. Some larger municipalities are now starting to monitor what is called fugitive emissions. Fugitive emissions are those that are hard to control, track and quantify.

Many of the municipalities participating in the strategic sharing group shared that they lack a clear path to reduce GHGs within their utility. In response, CWN applied for funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Implementation Readiness Fund. We recently announced the launch of  Charting the Course to Net Zero Water in Canada – Canadian Water Network, a project that will engage Canada’s largest municipal water utilities, cleantech networks and individual companies, CWN’s private sector Innovation Partners, provincial water associations, international water research centres, energy utilities, regulatory bodies and academia to share knowledge and approaches to reduce GHGs. The first step on the roadmap is to complete a GHG inventory — has your water utility completed one?

Process emissions webinar series insights

Three webinars concerning process emissions were presented between July and October 2024, as part of a 4-part series organized by the U.S. Water Alliance and Canadian Water Network. The webinars were hosted by The Water Research Foundation and presented in collaboration with the Danish Water Technology Alliance, Water Environment Federation and International Water Association. Here are some of the key messages that were shared:

• With new insights and knowledge, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRFs) are comparable to those from global shipping and aviation industries. As we switch to cleaner and renewable forms of energy, nitrous oxide and methane emissions from water utilities are becoming more dominant in GHG Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
• There are uncertainties in measuring and identifying the numerous sources of methane emissions, so multiple methods are required to identify and quantify emissions across wastewater treatment plants individually.
• Nitrous oxide emissions come from numerous sources, including biological nutrient removal (BNR) and sludge incineration, and can be measured in various ways. There are also uncertainties associated with measuring nitrous oxide emissions, but we know enough to start measuring and mitigating emissions from the wastewater sector now.

How can water utilities plan for a future that is inherently unpredictable?

CWN is exploring this question through a project focused on integrating elements of Adaptive Planning into long-term water infrastructure and water management planning.

In the face of rapid and continuous change, conventional models and planning are no longer adequate in determining future conditions.  As a result, Adaptive Planning is emerging as a preferred approach to decision-making among leading jurisdictions to address future uncertainties. CWN is working with leading utilities across Canada and international experts to develop an Adaptive Planning framework and guidance tailored for Canadian water utilities and water management professionals. Research and interviews with water managers across Canada, and international experts and practitioners is underway. The initial guidance will be completed in the first quarter of 2025.

The importance of water availability in a changing climate

The effects of a changing climate are experienced through higher variability in the timing, distribution, type and intensity of precipitation, which affects water availability. NRCan launched Canada1Water earlier this year to provide an overall assessment to predict water availability across Canada. Early results from the Mackenzie River basin predict some changing patterns — wetter winters, driver summers and lower levels of stored groundwater by the end of the century.

Understanding future trends using large datasets and models, such as Canada1Water or ongoing collaborative research by the Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative (in partnership with CWN and ClimateWest) will shed light on the influence of climate change on water availability, land suitability and crop yield across the Canadian Prairies.

Water security and availability will continue to be at the forefront of Canadians’ minds in some regions in the future. The significant drought conditions experienced by Alberta earlier in 2024 have motivated the provincial government to engage residents on water availability. If you live in Alberta, consider adding your voice to their engagement process.