The second year of the Canadian Water Network’s (CWN) and National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID) Wastewater-Based Surveillance (WBS) peer learning program has continued with renewed vigour. Water Canada Award We’re excited to share that our WBS program received an award from Water Canada. Water Canada’s Awards recognize people, projects and technologies that demonstrate a strong commitment to [...]

Over the summer and looking ahead to the fall, the Canadian Water Municipal Consortium continues to focus on supporting utility leaders in building sustainable, equitable and resilient cities. A core thread of this is navigating uncertainty amid changing realities of service delivery – from digital transformation and managing risks from contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), to addressing rapid population [...]

Our water and climate team has been busy attending industry conferences, collaborating with other organizations in the sector, and ramping up projects. Here are some updates on what we’ve been up to. Highlights from IWA’s World Water Congress and Exhibition In August, the International Water Association’s (IWA) World Water Congress and Exhibition Toronto brought together experts and leaders to [...]

Canadian Water Network’s (CWN) CEO Nicola Crawhall sat down with Dr. Niladri Basu for a fascinating discussion on the revolution underway in toxicity testing and implications for regulations and approvals in Canada. Dr. Basu is a Canada Research Chair (Tier I) in Environmental Health Sciences. He is also a professor in the Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment [...]

Canadian Water Network had an exciting week in Toronto, presenting, networking and socializing with colleagues from around the world at the International Water Association’s (IWA) World Water Congress and Exhibition. Some highlights include: Receiving a Water Canada Award for the National Wastewater-based Surveillance Program we’re undertaking in collaboration with the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases. Hosting a forum on [...]

Welcome to the Fall 2024 edition of News Splash. I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable summer, swimming in one of Canada’s many lakes, rivers or oceans. Like many Canadians, I was inspired by our outstanding Olympic and Paralympic swimming team, especially the riveting performances by Summer MacIntosh, Josh Liendo and Aurelie Rivard in their events. A [...]

We’re excited that Laura Fiore has joined Canadian Water Network (CWN) as the climate mitigation project manager.“I’m excited to join CWN for the opportunity to work with seasoned professionals and contribute to critical and impactful climate mitigation efforts,” says Laura. “I look forward to collaborating with a network of experts and stakeholders from across Canada to address complex water issues [...]

We are thrilled to launch CWN's new strategic plan for 2024 to 2029. This plan is designed to help us facilitate cross-sector collaboration to address water challenges and opportunities that affect our communities, health and climate. Key highlights of the plan Three program areas Water and Communities Our water and communities program helps leaders make [...]

As technology rapidly advances, monitoring health indicators and contaminants in wastewater has become more precise. But how can this information be harnessed to protect public health? Canadian Water Network (CWN) and the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID) are leading a national program that supports the effective use of wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) to inform public health decisions. In [...]

In Canada, we're fortunate to have municipal water leaders from diverse backgrounds serving communities across the country. Canadian Water Network (CWN) is launching an initiative to spotlight these leaders. Our goal is to celebrate and elevate their contributions by creating profiles that highlight their career paths, aspirations and perspectives on industry trends. For our first water leader spotlight, meet [...]

As we bid farewell to the inaugural year of Canadian Water Network’s (CWN) and National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases’ (NCCID) Wastewater-Based Surveillance (WBS) peer learning program, we eagerly step into a new phase with fresh participants and renewed vigour. The WBS Strategic Sharing Group (SSG) and the newly created Provincial Forum boast a collective of 42 dedicated public [...]

We’re bringing you an insider’s perspective on the latest updates from Canadian Water Network’s (CWN) Canadian Municipal Water Consortium. The national network is made up of utility leaders who share a common goal of advancing municipal water management. Introducing CWN’s Strategic Advisory Committee Earlier this year, CWN established its inaugural 2024/25 strategic advisory committee. This committee, comprised of five [...]

Our water and climate program area is working to make our communities stronger and better able to deal with the impacts of climate change. Impacts of climate change on water availability To help do this, we’re undertaking a two-year project with ClimateWest and Prairie the Adaptation Research Collaborative (PARC) to understand the impact of climate change on water availability [...]

As the federal lead for freshwater science, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) Science and Technology Branch is leading the development of a National Freshwater Science Agenda. It is an inclusive and coordinated roadmap that identifies the most pressing freshwater challenges across Canada. Over the next ten years, the National Freshwater Science Agenda will drive a coordinated science focus [...]

Bill C-59, which included the Canada Water Agency Act, received Royal Assent on June 20, 2024. The next steps for the Canada Water Agency (CWA) to officially commence its operations as an independent entity include the issuance of several orders-in-council: An order specifying the coming-into-force date of the new law. An order designating Winnipeg as the CWA’s headquarters. An order [...]

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are human-made substances that persist in the environment and have been dubbed ‘forever chemicals.’ People can be exposed to PFAS through many routes, one of which is potentially drinking water. During wastewater treatment, PFAS can accumulate in the treated effluent from sources within the urban sewer collection system and discharged into the environment. Currently, regulatory [...]

Microplastics are ubiquitous in our lives and in the environment. Canada is currently  negotiating an international agreement on plastics pollution, and has joined other countries in banning some single use plastics. Despite the enormity of the problem, understanding how microplastics circulate in the environment and in our bodies is in its early stages. CWN’s CEO, Nicola Crawhall, sat down [...]

Welcome to the Summer 2024 edition of News Splash. For those of us in the water sector, all eyes have been on the City of Calgary since June 5th. Main breaks are not uncommon, but a break in a feedermain from the treatment plant is particularly critical. There will be much to learn by all of us from the [...]

On June 5, the data strategic sharing group convened for its third meeting. Aravin Amirthalingam from the City of Calgary outlined his team's approach to digital transformation. The utility has made significant strides in creating a system for continuous improvement. However, Aravin highlighted that digital projects frequently fail due to a misalignment between strategy and project execution. To address [...]

High inflation, supply chain disruptions and increased interest rates are contributing to the rising costs of delivering water services. Our aging water infrastructure, coupled with ongoing growth and development, necessitates significant investment in infrastructure upgrades. Despite water being relatively underpriced, it remains a costly necessity, especially for low-income, senior and disabled Canadians. Water utilities face the tremendous challenge of [...]

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We're excited to share that our Canadian Municipal Water Consortium has launched a Strategic Advisory Committee. The Canadian Municipal Water Consortium is a national network of leaders from 26 utilities who share a common goal of advancing municipal water management. The strategic advisory committee supports greater alignment between the consortium’s priorities and members’ needs. Members of the 2024/2025 inaugural committee include: [...]

We’re thrilled to announce that Carol Malesky, principal of financial services at Stantec, is joining us as a speaker during our upcoming webinar. The webinar will examine how Canadian utilities can advance equity and affordability through customer assistance programs and rate designs. Carol is a utility economist with over 25 years of experience assisting water, wastewater and stormwater utilities with [...]

Canadian Water Network (CWN) is thrilled to announce the addition of Giba Barrie as the engagement and knowledge mobilization specialist to our Wastewater-Based Surveillance (WBS) Program team. She joins WBS Program Manager Talia Glickman and our collaborators at the National Centre for Collaboration on Infectious Diseases (NCCID). “I am super passionate about knowledge mobilization,” says Giba. “I possess a [...]

Canadian Water Network (CWN) convened the 2024 Spring Consortium Leaders Group (CLG) meeting in Edmonton last week from May 2-3. This gathering, which occurs twice a year, provides senior leaders in the water sector with a platform to exchange insights about pressing challenges water utilities face across the country. The Spring meeting, co-hosted by EPCOR and ARROW Utilities, brought together over 30 municipal leaders [...]