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App SavvySmartphone applications are making water sector jobs more fluid. When Mike Scarth at the Alberta WaterPortal became interested in mobile water applications (colloquially termed “apps”), he directed summer students to research what was available. The result of their findings culminated in a handy WaterPortal page that indexes water apps for iPhones, Android, and [...] |
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Interview: Peter HolmesVancouver-based photographer Peter Holmes was doing his political science undergrad at the University of British Columbia when he concluded that academic research was having very little influence on policy. At the time, he was enrolled in an environmental politics class and a modern art history class [...] |
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A Bitter PillNew technologies could soon send overdosed waterways to rehab. If the brook trout swimming in Dr. Sébastien Sauvé’s laboratory tanks at the City of Montreal wastewater treatment plant smiled while his team probed their brains for effects from trace pharmaceutical residues, it’s possible that antidepressants were responsible. Not that Sauvé, associate professor [...] |
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Groundbreakers: Speedy SamplesA collaborative partnership heralds a brand new era for water testing. Although the technologies involved in water analysis are complex, they’re vital to ensuring the world’s supply of safe drinking water sources. Recognizing the need for faster, more accurate data, Canadian lab Maxxam Analytics and University of Waterloo’s Dr. Janusz Pawliszyn have partnered to develop [...] |
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Lasting a LifetimeThe ABCs of water infrastructure warranties. As readers of Water Canada are well aware, there is a significant need for the upgrade of existing water infrastructure and the development of new facilities across much of Canada. From the environmental assessment to meeting procurement requirements to negotiating the design and construction documentation [...] |
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Interview: Steven RenzettiA new report attempts to determine water’s dollar value to the Canadian economy. What’s our water worth? It’s a big question. Depending on whom you ask, the answer might not be able to be quantified in dollars. Even if you’re talking to economists, valuing water is a challenging proposition. But that hasn’t stopped one team from tackling the question. To find the answer [...] |
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Savings at the PumpUnderstanding the real energy efficiency of water pumps. In a recent University of Toronto publication discussing the water-energy nexus, Bryan W. Karney writes: “…if you are thinking about big challenges, and big threats, and those topics that are likely to dominate humanity over this century, you might want to think of water and energy.” In the context [...] |
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Interview: Sarah DickinSarah Dickin is a graduate student in the school of geography and earth sciences at McMaster University, and part of the Water Without Borders student program at the United Nations University (UNU). Her research involves developing a tool to assess vulnerability to water-related hazards based on environmental [...] |
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Cultivating GrowthWith the support of the municipality, Chatham-Kent’s progressive farming community is reducing agricultural runoff. Situated in the agricultural heartland of Ontario, Rondeau Bay is an important ecosystem. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), it’s an important spawning and nursery area for bass and pike, a major stopover for migratory birds and a refuge for a number of rare and threatened Great [...] |
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Deconstructing "Deleterious"What one word means for wastewater. Located near the mouth of Rivers Inlet, north of Port Hardy on the central coast of British Columbia, the floating Rivers Lodge is one of several that host sports fishing vacations. For six weeks each year, Pat Ardley and her two kids run the lodge, but it’s not an easy business. The economic downturn [...] |
