Assessing Aging AC Pipe: Insights from the Brabant Water Pilot Project
The Challenge of Aging Infrastructure Across Ontario and beyond, municipalities face a pressing challenge: managing aging water infrastructure, particularly asbestos cement (AC) pipe. AC water distribution mains, which make up about 11% of North America’s water network, fail at an average rate of 10.3 breaks per 100 miles each year. With more than 40% of these pipes already over 50 years old, utilities are confronting rising risks as the material nears the end of its useful life. Once valued for [...]
Bridging Science and Society: Dr. Hamed Ibrahim’s Vision for Water Resilience
Dr. Hamed Ibrahim is advancing a transformative vision for how we understand and manage water in the 21st century. An Assistant Professor in Civil & Mineral Engineering at the University of Toronto since January 2024, his research brings together advanced computational methods, a deep understanding of hydrological systems, and a focus on applied impact, particularly for cities facing climate stress and infrastructure vulnerability. His journey into water research began during his master’s studies in hydrogeology, when he first recognized how [...]
Building Smarter Water Futures: Dr. Maricor Arlos Returns to Waterloo with a Mission to Rethink Contaminants, Technology, and Trust
After nearly a decade away, Dr. Maricor Arlos returned to the University of Waterloo in 2024, not to retrace her steps but to reshape the path forward. A Waterloo graduate three times over, Arlos had spent years conducting research in Switzerland and Alberta, gaining a sharper, more global perspective on water management, stakeholder priorities, and the complex role of contaminants in the environment. Now, as Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and head of the Arlos Research Lab, she’s [...]