How Do You Envision a Friendly, Accessible Waterfront?

May 16, 2012 - 2:45 pm

As part of our January/February 2012 issue, we offered Water Canada readers the chance to win a copy of Reshaping Toronto’s Waterfront (University of Toronto Press). We asked: how do you envision a friendly, accessible waterfront? One of our winners, Ian D. Robertson of Whitehorse, YK, provided...

Tags: waterfront

Spring Cleaning

May 1, 2012 - 3:14 pm

With our May/June 2012 issue sent to the press, this afternoon I set to work cleaning my disaster of a desk and unearthed this gem from Water Canada's publisher, who is a big fan of press clippings (evidence). In case you can't read it, Todd's writing reads: "Why isn't the mayor drinking Toronto...

Making Water Utilities More Energy Efficient

May 1, 2012 - 2:14 pm

How can water utilities use energy more efficiently? I was pleased to investigate the finer details of the water-energy nexus--right down to microbubbles--for the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association's bi-annual publication, the Canadian Municipal Water News & Review. PDF: Electricity...

Tags: Canadian Municipal Water News & Review, Canadian Water and Wastewater Association, CWWA, efficiency, energy, water-energy nexus

Pitching In

April 30, 2012 - 1:46 pm

Everything but the kitchen sink? Wait--we definitely found one of those, not to mention a few tires and some rusty shopping carts. Last Friday, the Water Canada / ReNew Canada team (and friends) spent some quality time cleaning up Toronto's Humber River shore for Pitch-In Canada. What better way...

Tags: Pitch-In Canada

Blue Bash Success!

April 27, 2012 - 10:34 am

Last Wednesday, Water Canada hosted The Blue Bash, a party at Toronto’s historic Steam Whistle Roundhouse to raise funds and awareness for WaterCan’s Kilimanjaro Climb for Life effort. In October, I'll be part of a team of 15-20 people who will scale Mt. Kilimanjaro to support WaterCan’s projects...

Tags: The Blue Bash, The Water Brothers, WaterCan

Poop: The 4-Letter Word Nobody's Talking About

April 18, 2012 - 12:59 pm

Here at Water Canada, dealing with poop (that is, water, wastewater, and sanitation) is right up our alley. So when @ohtinytony shared his human waste infographic, I had to share it with Water Canada's readers. It really helps to put the global water and sanitation crisis into perspective. Graphics...

Tags: clean water, poop, toilets, wastewater

Salki on Storage

April 15, 2012 - 4:12 pm

The Water Canada team spent last week in Banff at the fifth annual Water Technologies Symposium. Thursday's keynote speaker, Lake Winnipeg Foundation's Alex Salki, took some time to chat with me about Manitoba's developing surface water strategy. We also chatted about one of the possible solutions to...

Tags: Alex Salki, flooding, Lake Winnipeg Foundation, Manitoba, surface water

Watertight

April 5, 2012 - 1:21 pm

“Water loss is a reality, and it’s going to get worse,” says Shaun McKaigue, vice president at FER-PAL Construction Ltd. McKaigue is talking about leaky pipes, an issue that’s costing $700 million a year in Ontario alone. A 2009 Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario study...

Tags: Alan Wyatt, American Water Works Association, AWWA, Carl Yates, Colin Powell, Echologics Engineering Inc., Federation of Canadian Municipalities, FER-PAL Construction Ltd., Halifax Water, infrastructure, International Water Association, IWA, leaks, leaky pipes, Marc Bracken, RCCAO, Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario, SCADA, Shaun McKaigue, supervisory control and data acquisition, water loss, Watermark Solutions

Warm Fuzzies for World Water Day

March 21, 2012 - 2:29 pm

On the eve of World Water Day, here are a few of the cool efforts going on to raise awareness (and funds) for water issues and projects across the globe. Picture this From March 19 through March 30, Xylem Watermark will share a $1 donation between international non-profit Water For People and non-profit...

Interview: Angus Toulouse

March 21, 2012 - 1:15 pm

Water Canada spoke with Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse at this week's First Nations Water Symposium in Niagara Falls. Here, he provides remarks on Bill S-8, the proposed Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act. The bill is currently in its second reading in Senate. We also spoke with...

Tags: Angus Toulouse, Children's Water Education Council, Children's Water Festival, Elmer Lickers, First Nations Water Symposium, OFNTSC, Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation