Manitoba’s Red River Basin Commission (RRBC) has honoured the City of Selkirk’s wastewater treatment plant with the North Chapter Award, which recognizes the community’s contribution and commitment to water management and protection.  The $30-million plant opened in 2021, using two sets of ultrafiltration membrane cartridge units, each capable of handling 6 million litres per day. Powered entirely by electricity, the facility uses zero fossil fuels in its day-to-day operations.  “I was in shock because I have seen other membrane filtration working in Manitoba and I’ve never seen anyt ..read more

The City of Toronto has paused its three stormwater charge public consultation sessions set for April, following the mayor’s instructions to align its potential implementation with Toronto’s broader climate resilience strategy.   Mayor Olivia Chow told local media she was caught off guard by the stormwater charge consultations when she began fielding public complaints about it.   The charge, or tax, was intended to begin in 2027 to address the amount of impermeable hard surface on a property, such as roofs, asphalt driveways, parking areas, and concrete landscaping. The bas ..read more

With the amount of water required by Samsung Semiconductor expected to more than double by 2030, the South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate has formed agreements to purify and use some 400 million litres of wastewater daily to manufacture its microchips. To ensure maximum availability of industrial water without depleting natural water sources, Samsung has already formed wastewater use agreements with the South Korean Ministry of Environment, Gyeonggi Province, five city bodies, the Korea Water Resources Corporation, and the Korea Environment Corporation.  “To utilize sewag ..read more

Global supply chain issues are once again causing delays around creating the infrastructure necessary for the City of Calgary to reintroduce fluoride into its drinking water.  In summer 2023 municipal officials revealed that project costs had tripled primarily due to the need for a new building at the Bearspaw Aayer Treatment Plant. Construction is underway, but while that new system had been scheduled to be online by fall 2024, the project completion date has now moved into early 2025. “This date was set with an understanding that timelines may change due to ongoing uncertainty with the ..read more

A new $4.3-million federal grant will allow Dalhousie University to support  the Atlantic First Nations Water Authority (AFNWA) to successfully deliver its mandate as the first Indigenous-owned water authority in Canada.  The Alliance-Mitacs Accelerate Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) will help to train a new generation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous engineers and other professionals for the water authority’s long-term success.  The partnership will support 20 graduate and postdoctoral research trainees, 15 undergraduate intern ..read more

In an incident follow-up to municipal officials in Edmonton, EPCOR’s plant director at the E.L. Smith Water Treatment Plant said that it took a crew of about 30 workers an entire work week to address the fallout and repairs stemming from water-damaged electrical cables in February.  Water had seeped into the plant’s underground vault containing high-voltage cables that supplied power to the distribution pumps, Plant Director Vicki Campell told Edmonton’s Utility Committee on March 4. The incident led to an approximate four-day water ban for Edmonton and the surrounding region as EPCOR wor ..read more

AtkinsRéalis has been awarded a front-end engineering and design services contract by TESCanada H2 Inc. for a major initiative in Quebec that aims to produce up to 70,000 tonnes of clean hydrogen per year. Known as Project Mauricie, the hydrogen will be used to decarbonize industrial processes and heavy transportation in Quebec. Expected to be one of the largest clean hydrogen projects in Canada, its purpose-built renewable power generation will include wind and solar farms totalling 1,000 MW, when commissioned in 2028.  The hydrogen can be used as a source of clean fuel for steel mills ..read more

Despite the escalation of costs associated with expanding the Raymond A. Barker Water Treatment Plant in the Town of Collingwood, Ontario, local officials have now finalized a partnership and water sharing agreement with the Town of New Tecumseth, where drinking water is piped south from Collingwood. Both councils announced that they would be proceeding with the low-bid tender from Kenaiden Contracting Ltd., which is close to expiration. That bid, made in fall 2023, led to joint statements of concern from councils when it came in about $150 million higher than anticipated.  Additionally ..read more

Municipal officials in the Alberta village of Big Valley want to undertake a geotechnical inspection of its wastewater lagoon, following alleged violations that date back to early 2022.   Big Valley’s Public Works Foreman, Monte DeMarco, noted in a February 2024 letter to environmental enforcement officers that upon starting his position earlier this year, he “discovered a history of turnover in key positions, resulting in minimal attention or direction given towards maintaining or meeting regulatory standards.”  Some of the violations raised by the Enforcement Branch of Environ ..read more

Numbered company 1230934 Ontario Limited and Waste Wood Disposal Ltd. have been fined for breaches of the Ontario Water Resources Act (OWRA) and the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) in relation to improper waste management practices and non-compliance with provincial orders. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks laid charges over waste management practices discovered at a waste disposal transfer site in Dresden, Ontario. Waste Wood Disposal Ltd. operated the site, which was owned by the numbered company. A provincial bulletin states that in December 2019, the minist ..read more