Water Canada | Category Archives

Peninsula Harbour Sediment Capping Project Awarded to Milestone

Posted on May 13, 2012

Milestone Environmental Contracting Inc. has been awarded the contract to complete the capping of historically contaminated sediment in the Peninsula Harbour, which is a Great Lakes Area of Concern. The $7.3 million sediment capping project will begin this month. Sediment in Peninsula Harbour is contaminated by mercury and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) from historical discharges of wastewater and storm water runoff from the local pulp mill, which closed in 2009. A 15-20 centimetre layer of clean sand will be placed on top of the contaminated sediment. This is said to accelerate natural recovery of Jellicoe Cove in Peninsula Harbour [...]

Ontario-China Call for Water Tech Proposals

Posted on May 1, 2012

Ontario's Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation has launched its second call for proposals under the Ontario-China Research and Innovation Fund. This year's areas of focus includes water and related technologies. The deadline for applications is May 31. The Ontario government and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote scientific, technological and industrial research and commercialization cooperation. The two jurisdictions have committed $5 million each, for a total of $10 million over five years (2011-2015), to create the fund, which [...]

Stantec Wins for Ottawa's RTC System

Posted on April 30, 2012

Stantec’s water team in Ottawa has been honoured with the Environment Award for their real time control (RTC) system for the City of Ottawa’s combined sewer system. The Environment Award was presented at a gala in Toronto on Saturday by the Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO). Stantec and its partner, BPR-CSO, implemented RTC based operating strategies for the City of Ottawa's combined sewer system. Real time control operation of wastewater collection systems is a relatively new field that involves the automated control of operations in response to observed and/or predicted conditions. The system takes advantage of existing [...]

Researchers Discover Resistance in Ontario Freshwater

Posted on April 26, 2012

McMaster University researchers have discovered that floc--“goolike” substances that occur suspended in water and that host large communities of bacteria--also contain high levels of antibiotic resistance. “This has important public health implications because the more antibiotic resistance there is, the less effective our antibiotic arsenal is against infectious diseases,” said Lesley Warren, professor of earth science, in a recent press release. The research was led by Warren and Gerry Wright, scientific director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, along with Ian Droppo, a research [...]

FOCA Renews Agreement with Province of Ontario

Posted on April 25, 2012

The Federation of Ontario Cottagers' Associations announced this week that it has renewed its agreement with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment in support of the Ontario Lake Partner Program. The aim of the partnership is to foster stewardship and awareness on water environmental issues, and allow the Lake Partner Program (LPP) to monitor and track water clarity and phosphorus levels in water bodies across Ontario. The LPP received the 2011 Technical Excellence Award from the North American Lake Management Society, for important contributions to the science of lake and watershed management. It tracks long-term trends in key [...]

Lake Management Planning Begins on Pigeon Lake

Posted on April 24, 2012

Pigeon Lake has joined Balsam, Cameron, and Sturgeon lakes in a program that seeks to enhance the environmental health and economic sustainability of lakes across the City of Kawartha Lakes. An official launch for the Pigeon Lake Management Plan was held this week at Kawartha Settler’s Village in Bobcaygeon. “The health of the lake is reflected in our local economy and communities, and needs to be managed wisely,” said Pat Warren, director of Kawartha Conservation, in a press release. “We need to get started right away on research that will help us better understand issues such as blue-green algae outbreaks, excessive aquatic [...]

Water Treatment Research Sparks Fuel Cell Innovation

Posted on April 24, 2012

This week, the Council of Ontario Universities announced that physical chemistry doctoral student Julia van Drunen has received one of five summer fellowships from the international Electrochemical Society for her research in the fields of water treatment and fuel cell technology. Supervised by Dr. Gregory Jerkiewicz, van Drunen garnered attention when she started applying work from her earlier graduate studies to fuel cell technology. It started with a nickel-based catalyst design for water treatment. The catalyst, which is described as looking like a three-dimensional chain-linked fence, offers a high surface area ideal for creating [...]

New Ways to Fund Stormwater Service

Posted on April 20, 2012

The City of Mississauga is looking for a new way to fund its stormwater management program. A stormwater financing study is underway, according to a recent press release. "The City's stormwater management system is a valued infrastructure asset that protects the quality of our water," said Martin Powell, commissioner, Transportation and Works Department. "This aging stormwater system combined with future needs and competing financial pressures across Mississauga is forcing the City to consider new ways to fund the system beyond property taxes and development charges." The City has hired a consultant to identify, review and evaluate [...]

The Case for Green Infrastructure in Ontario

Posted on April 3, 2012

A new report by the Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition says that green infrastructure offers tangible, cost effective ways to meet the challenges of urbanization and climate change. The report includes six recommendations for the Ontario government, including the implementation of stormwater management ponds. "We need to think about public infrastructure the same way we think about health care–more holistically and with an eye towards prevention," said Paul Ronan, executive director of the Ontario Parks Association, in a press release. "Taxpayer dollars can go further, and provide a wider range of economic, health and [...]

Feds Announce First Nation Water Pilots in Ontario

Posted on March 21, 2012

Four First Nation communities will participate in the Canada-Ontario First Nations Pilot Initiative to Improve Drinking Water Quality. Through this joint initiative, the federal and provincial governments are working with First Nation partners to explore and assess innovative, alternative and proven processes and drinking water servicing solutions. "The collaboration between the federal and provincial governments and the participating First Nations is an important step to improve access to clean reliable drinking water, particularly in smaller, rural communities," said John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. The [...]