The Canadian Municipal Water Consortium continues to foster collaboration and innovation within the water servicing sector. Recently, 28 municipal and utility water leaders from across the country gathered for an in-person meeting in Hamilton, Ontario. The meeting provided a platform for valuable discussions, guest presentations, and peer learning around current successes and challenges in [...]

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widely used chemicals that can be found in the environment, water and air. Now, the Government of Canada has discovered PFAS in the blood of Canadians, confirming the need for adequate assessment of sources and impacts of PFAS on the environment and human health. The nature of PFAS [...]

Canadian Water Network (CWN) is pleased to receive funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) to deliver a wastewater-based surveillance program in partnership with the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID). The program supports the effective interpretation and communication of wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) data by public [...]

Xylem Inc., a leading water technology company, recently released a white paper titled The Race We All Win: Mapping the route to water utility decarbonization. The white paper outlines four practical steps for water utilities can take to achieve net-zero targets without taking financing and contracts into consideration. Austin Alexander, vice president of sustainability [...]

Data governance is at the heart of creating a more just and equitable society. This was one of the key insights that Thomas Linder from Open North recently shared with the Canadian Municipal Water Consortium’s Levels of Service Strategic Sharing Group. During the meeting in March 2023, Thomas shared Open North’s perspective on the [...]

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is leading the charge for equitable practices in the U.S. water utility space. At a meeting held in March 2023, members of the Canadian Municipal Water Consortium’s Rates and Affordability Strategic Sharing Group gained valuable insights from SPU representatives Steve Hamai and Leslie Brinson. One of the key lessons SPU [...]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the Government of Canada is investing $420 million over 10 years to help protect and restore the Great Lakes. The announcement was made during U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Ottawa on March 24, which highlights the importance of this investment. Funds will be allocated to several initiatives, [...]

The Government of Canada recently announced new initiatives to reach its net-zero commitments. Although these initiatives don’t impact local governments directly, related initiatives have the potential to open doors for local governments. One of the new initiatives announced by the Government of Canada is that major suppliers to the federal government will be required [...]

Over the past year, the Canadian Municipal Water Consortium hosted several conversations on topics of interest to municipal and utility leaders. These conversations took place through topic-specific Strategic Sharing Groups (SSGs). These SSGs are communities of practice that bring together municipalities and utilities to discuss challenges they are facing, as well as share knowledge [...]

World Water Day on March 22 drew global attention to the threat of climate change to dwindling water supplies. There is plenty of evidence of climate impacts on water availability. Initially, these impacts were most acutely felt in the global south. As a result of these impacts, Cape Town imposed water bans, Syria faced [...]