Welcome to the Spring 2026 edition of News Splash, Canadian Water Network’s (CWN) quarterly newsletter.

Across Canada, water leaders are facing a familiar tension: rising expectations, aging systems, limited capital, and a growing list of risks — from cyber threats to climate volatility. Everyone agrees on the challenges. What’s often missing is the alignment between different partners. Blue Cities exists to close that gap.

Canada’s municipal water utilities are entering a period of significant reform as provinces across the country reevaluate the structure and oversight of water and wastewater services. At the same time, global economic uncertainty, shifting trade dynamics, and ongoing infrastructure supply-chain pressures are increasingly challenging how municipalities plan for, procure, and deliver critical water infrastructure their communities rely on.

As municipalities across Canada face increasing pressure to reduce emissions, renew aging infrastructure, and deliver reliable services within tightening funding and policy environments, opportunities to see real-world solutions are more important than ever.

Ongoing resource constraints are amplifying the challenges municipal and utility leaders are facing, which underscores the need to leverage thermal heat from wastewater as a sustainable energy source for buildings.

We’re happy to share that Bret Collins joined Canadian Water Network (CWN) in January as the municipal decarbonization program advisor for our Wastewater Energy Transfer (WET) project.

The development of a National Water Security Strategy is an opportunity to discuss how we can address freshwater-related threats and opportunities in a way that protects freshwater ecosystems and secures water for communities and the economy, now and for future generations.