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 [...]

Metro Vancouver has joined the Smart Water Networks Forum’s (SWAN) annual conference as the Lead Utility Partner. The 14th annual SWAN conference will be held in Vancouver from May 20-22, 2024. This year, the theme of the global smart water event is Bridging Water Realities: Embracing Collaborative Innovation. As the Lead Utility Partner, Metro Vancouver will host morning utility [...]

Utilities need to navigate the delicate balance of providing water services to all customers, including those needing bill payment assistance, while also recovering service delivery costs.Utilities can provide customer assistance programs for customers who need help with their bill payments. When designed effectively, rate structures can also help address the challenges low-income households face.Join CWN and Stantec for a webinar [...]

Canadian Water Network (CWN) is excited to welcome Alicia Wang for a four month co-op term as a communications and marketing student. She is joining us from the University of Waterloo, where she is in her third year of the honours arts and business program.  Over the next four months, Alicia will be supporting CWN with an audience analysis [...]

Water utilities face the complex task of incorporating climate adaptation into their long-term strategies. A recent webinar hosted by Canadian Water Network (CWN) and GHD tackled this issue. Greg Finlayson from GHD Australia and Ryan Brotchie from GHD Canada introduced the Adaptive Pathways Planning (APP) framework as a solution. This approach is gaining traction globally for managing water resources [...]

In March 2024, Canadian Water Network (CWN) convened the second meeting of the stormwater management Strategic Sharing Group. Eighteen leaders from 11 water utilities heard from the City of Calgary about its 2023 Stormwater Strategy. Frank Frigo highlighted that the strategy rests on four pillars: fostering community resilience, ensuring proactive asset operation and maintenance, adopting low-impact and green stormwater [...]

Canadian Water Network (CWN) interviewed Peter Gleick, author of The Three Ages of Water: Prehistoric Past, Imperiled Present, and a Hope for the Future. What prompted you to write your book The Three Ages of Water? I've worked on water issues my entire career. With the Pacific Institute, we’ve been looking at water and sustainability, water and climate, water [...]

Over the past two decades process intensification has emerged as a major trend in wastewater treatment and is the key to sustainable wastewater treatment. It is smaller, cleaner, safer and more energy-efficient than conventional treatment. So, what exactly is process intensification, and why is there so much focus on it today? Is it just a fad? Or is it the [...]

The Government of Canada is investing $59.6 million over five years to amplify and expedite research initiatives that will help ensure communities have the knowledge and guidance needed to adapt to climate change impacts. “The research and data delivered through this investment will strengthen communities and help them better protect the homes, businesses and livelihoods of their residents from [...]

By Terry Duguid, parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister and special advisor for water There are few things more important to life than clean water. With 20 percent of the world’s freshwater and more inland water than any other country, Canada’s freshwater is both a tremendous responsibility and essential resource. Unfortunately, many lakes and rivers across the country have [...]

The Government of Canada created the Canada Water Agency within Environment and Climate Change Canada in June 2023 with a mandate to improve freshwater management by providing leadership, effective collaboration federally, and improved coordination and collaboration with provinces, territories, and Indigenous Peoples to address freshwater challenges and opportunities. The Government of Canada introduced legislation in November 2023 to create a [...]

Over the past year, we’ve been working with the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID) to facilitate a peer learning program that builds knowledge and resources for effectively interpreting and communicating wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) data across Canada. The program’s inaugural phase commenced in April 2023 and concludes in March 2024. During this period, it actively involved 28 public [...]

Canadian Water Network’s (CWN) Wastewater-Based Surveillance (WBS) Program, facilitated jointly with the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease (NCCID), is nearing the end of its first year. With that come some exciting accomplishments. Two streams of Strategic Sharing Groups (SSG) have been completed. One SSG focused on communication and interpretation of WBS data, and the other SSG focused on [...]

Canadian Water Network (CWN) made progress on several climate-related initiatives in the first quarter of 2024. These initiatives include a project that examines climate impacts, water availability and agricultural activity in the Prairies. Advancing research on climate impacts: A landmark two-year project is being undertaken by CWN in partnership with ClimateWest and the Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative (PARC). This project, [...]