Each spring in Ontario, the thaw tests watershed systems in ways that are often difficult to predict. Snowpack melts, frozen soils shift rapidly into saturation, and river levels rise unevenly across basins. In some watersheds, conditions move from stable to strained within hours. For conservation authorities and municipal operators, these weeks are operationally intense and [...]
Wastewater disinfection is essential for protecting public health and downstream water quality, but conventional control approaches such as flow-pacing struggle to reflect real-world operating conditions. In practice, disinfectant demand varies with changes in hydraulics, water quality, and operational conditions, which are not fully captured by flow alone. This can lead to inefficient dosing, unnecessary chemical [...]
This winter, the Ontario Water Consortium hosted its Innovation Showcase Winter 2026 Series, a three-part webinar program highlighting applied research and collaboration across Ontario’s water sector. Attendees from academia, government, and industry explored strategies to manage trace organic contaminants, monitor fractured bedrock groundwater systems, and mitigate fugitive methane emissions from wastewater treatment plants. The series [...]
Municipal wastewater treatment is under pressure like never before. Flows fluctuate unpredictably, pollutant loads are higher, and communities increasingly demand water reuse solutions. Utilities must maintain consistent treatment performance while reducing energy and chemical use. Traditional membrane systems often struggle under these conditions, particularly when faced with sudden surges or variable solids content. Fibracast's FibrePlate [...]
In the industrial innovation lifecycle, there is a notorious gap between a successful lab experiment and a market-ready product. This "Valley of Death" is the stage where many promising clean-tech innovations fail due to the logistical, technical, and financial hurdles of scaling up. For IntensiCarb™, a revolutionary vacuum-enhanced anaerobic digestion technology, navigating this gap required [...]
Across Canada, municipalities face the same hidden vulnerability: ageing wastewater infrastructure that has never been comprehensively inspected. Few assets illustrate this more clearly than large-diameter trunk sanitary sewers - the buried arteries of wastewater systems that often haven’t been assessed since installation. Without condition data, utilities are forced into reactive maintenance cycles. Failures lead to [...]
When Dr. Sonia Hassini first entered civil engineering, she imagined a future in construction. But as she moved deeper into her studies in Tunisia, her attention shifted toward the systems that make cities livable, especially the fragile and often overlooked networks that manage water. Exposure to hydraulics, water distribution challenges, watershed analysis, and water scarcity [...]
The Ontario Water Consortium has submitted a proposal for funding to establish the Ontario Water Advantage Program (OWAP). This initiative is designed to accelerate the commercialization and adoption of Ontario-made solutions to build resilient and sustainable water systems, supporting national priorities while strengthening infrastructure and driving economic growth. Why OWAP, and Why Now Canada’s water [...]
This fall, the Ontario Water Consortium hosted its Innovation Showcase Fall Series, a three-part webinar program highlighting applied research and interdisciplinary collaboration across Ontario’s water sector. With over 200 registrants from academia, government, and industry, the series showcased emerging tools and partnerships advancing sustainable water monitoring, treatment, and ecosystem restoration. The series opened with a [...]
On September 16, 2025, Urban Water TMU hosted the PFAS Management in Canada Workshop, bringing together government representatives, municipal operators, researchers, consultants, technology providers, non-profits, and academics to address the pressing challenges posed by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Canadian water systems and biosolids. The workshop combined keynote presentations, panels, and interactive roundtable discussions [...]
