The federal government has proposed a new $6-billion Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund to accelerate the construction and upgrading of critical housing infrastructure, including water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste projects that would increase support for more homes.   The new fund under Budget 2024 proposes to make $1 billion available for municipalities to support urgent infrastructure needs that will directly create more housing, as well as $5 billion for agreements with provinces and territories to support long-term housing supply priorities.   “Supportive in ..read more

A pilot project between the University of Alberta and the City of Calgary is nearing completion after exploring the development of cost-effective and energy efficient processes and control strategies for ammonia-rich sludge liquor treatment with a pilot-scale granular sludge reactor (GSR).  Set for completion in September, the Alberta Innovates project highlights energy efficient and reliable high-ammonia wastewater treatment processes to reduce nitrogen loading in wastewater discharge for protected natural water systems. The project has employed biochemical and molecular tools to advance ..read more

The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies-Ontario (ACEC-Ontario) are applauding aspects of the new provincial budget as officials earmark $3.9 billion for projects to expand and repair provincial highways and bridges, as well as a $100-million investment to assist with STEM program costs in schools.  In the budget announcement, Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said that more than $190 billion is ready to invest in upgrading Ontario’s infrastructure over the next 10 years, including $26.2 billion that will be spent in t ..read more

Just one week after the International Joint Commission announced an official investigation into ongoing selenium contamination from coal mining in British Columbia’s Elk River Valley into Lake Koocanusa, a new report is claiming the cleanup costs to treat just half of the selenium-contaminated water could approach $6.4 billion over 60 years, greatly exceeding the costs that B.C’s Teck Coal is currently required to pay.   The new report was commissioned by B.C.-based environmental advocacy organization, Wildsight, which states that the cost estimate only reflects remediating part of t ..read more

Following a $140-million investment in southeastern Manitoba wastewater infrastructure, the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) is looking to partner on more new, large-scale infrastructure projects in Manitoba, including water facilities, to enable new housing construction through improved capacity.  For its new Infrastructure for Housing Initiative (IHI), the CIB said it wants to continue to invest in projects that support population growth opportunities through water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.  “Through our new lending initiative, we are committed to working with muni ..read more

Following the completion of a review by a Metro Vancouver Board task force, construction on the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant is set to resume, only now the project price tag has soared to nearly $4 billion, officials announced.   The infrastructure project had an initial project estimate of $700 million when construction began in 2018, but that was before the project ran into a series of cascading problems.   Local officials terminated their contract with the plant’s original builder in 2021 due to missed project milestones and ballooning costs. Afterwards, Metro ..read more

A group of Texas farmers is suing a Maryland-based company, which also produces biosolids in Canada, over claims their farms were damaged by a biosolids-based fertilizer contaminated with PFAS.  In a February 27 court filing, the farmers allege that Synagro Technologies and its Texas subsidiary are responsible for a range of health issues experienced by the farmers and their animals since they began using the fertilizer in 2022.   The civil lawsuit claims that the biosolids-based fertilizer tested positive for 27 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS. Eight o ..read more

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is forming a Water Sector Cybersecurity Task Force to combat hacking threats faced by water systems throughout the country. The March 19 joint announcement with the National Security Council (NSC) said the task force will identify near-term actions and strategies and aim to prevent vulnerabilities in water systems to reduce the risk of cyberattacks.  “Drinking water and wastewater systems are a lifeline for communities, but many systems have not adopted important cybersecurity practices to thwart potential cyberattacks,” announced EPA Adminis ..read more

Using a process called thermal decomposition, University of Waterloo researchers say they have converted epoxy into activated carbon to effectively remove 94% of nanoplastics from wastewater.  A team of researchers led by Waterloo chemical engineering professor, Tizazu Mekonnen, who specializes in polymer engineering, says they physically trapped the nanoplastics through adsorption within the porous structure of cured epoxy waste, which generated activated carbon.   “Rationally designed plastics not only can be part of the solution to reduce climate change but can have a positive imp ..read more

Alberta has targeted $482 million over three years for municipal water programs and infrastructure in its 2024 budget, with an emphasis on managing water for the future.  The earmarked spending proposal is up nearly $74 million over last year’s budget. It includes a planned $206.5 million for the Alberta Municipal Water/Wastewater Partnership, $237.7 million in Water for Life grants, and $37.7 million in funding for the First Nations Water Tie-In Program.  “Alberta’s government recognizes the huge demand for water that comes with a growing population,” announced Devin Dreeshen, Minis ..read more