Canadian Water Network (CWN) convened the 2024 Fall Consortium Leaders Group (CLG) meeting in Montreal from October 24-25. This gathering, which occurs twice a year, provides senior leaders in the water sector with a platform to exchange insights about pressing challenges and to foster a peer network with water utilities across the country.   The Fall meeting, co-hosted by the [...]

Canadian Water Network (CWN) is thrilled to introduce our new case studies hub – a resource dedicated to sharing practical knowledge and experiences from municipalities and water utilities across Canada. The hub highlights actionable insights into some of the most pressing challenges facing the water sector today. With these case studies, we aim to inspire and guide water industry [...]

Waterloo, ON, November 12, 2024 /CNW/ On October 10, 2024, Environment and Climate Change Canada announced Canadian Water Network (CWN) has been awarded a grant under the Implementation Readiness Fund. This grant will support CWN’s project “Charting the Course to Net Zero Water: Mobilizing Canada’s Municipal Water Network for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Mitigation” and will focus on developing networks [...]

Canadian Water Network (CWN) remains a source for updates, knowledge exchange and insights about contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in the Canadian municipal water context. In Canada and internationally, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have dominated the conversation around CEC-related risks to public health in recent years. While research is underway to better understand the risks of PFAS exposure, much [...]

Join us for a webinar on November 14 (12:00 p.m. ET) on strategies water utilities can use to communicate risks related to PFAS, with global expert Dr. Vincent Covello from the Center for Risk Communication. This event is hosted by CWN in partnership with the Global Water Research Coalition. Register online. The prevalence of PFAS in water and wastewater, along [...]

Mark your calendar for Blue Cities 2025 — May 14 & 15 in Mississauga. Don’t miss this event shaped specifically senior managers, thought leaders and cross-sector collaborators from water, wastewater and stormwater utilities; multiple levels of government; public and environmental health, national and provincial NGOs; Indigenous-led organizations; and knowledge and service providers from the private sector. This year’s program [...]

Health Canada has set a new objective for 25 specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water at 30 ng/L. This new objective replaces two previous drinking water guidelines and nine screening values derived for individual PFAS. The objective of 30 ng/L is based on treatment data and is considered reasonably achievable using common treatment methods such as Granular [...]

Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Canada (HICC) is introducing a new climate toolkit initiative to help communities build resilient and low-carbon public infrastructure, such as water and wastewater facilities. This initiative will offer tools and support services to help communities integrate climate-smart solutions into their projects. These include: A climate help desk that will respond to questions on how to [...]

In 2019, the federal Minister of Environment was directed to “advance the modernization of the Canada Water Act to reflect Canada’s freshwater reality, including climate change and Indigenous rights.” The Canada Water Agency (CWA) is currently leading a pre-engagement with key partners to understand how they want to engage in this initiative. The Agency is meeting with provincial and territorial governments [...]

Bill C-59, the Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023, which included the Canada Water Agency Act, royal assent on June 20, 2024. It sought to establish the Canada Water Agency (CWA) as a standalone entity outside of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). The Act also outlined various administrative and transition provisions for the standalone Agency. Before the CWA can officially launch [...]

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. The agenda is an inclusive and coordinated roadmap that identifies the most pressing freshwater challenges across Canada. It will inform a coordinated approach to the science needed to address these challenges over [...]

In Canada, we are privileged to have municipal water leaders from diverse backgrounds serving communities across the country. At Canadian Water Network (CWN), we are highlighting these exceptional individuals. Our aim is to celebrate and elevate their contributions by creating profiles that showcase their career paths and insights on industry trends. For our second water leader spotlight, meet Gen [...]

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 [...]