Dear Members, Partners, and Friends of the Ontario Water Consortium,
As 2023 winds down, we take pride in celebrating the strides taken and the milestones achieved by the Ontario Water Consortium. This year has stood as a testament to our unwavering mission: fostering innovation in water management through collaborative research, real-world testing, and strategic partnerships.
We proudly launched the Water Industry Growth Program, signifying a significant commitment with a total project value of $4M+. Our agility in the design and execution of this program within a mere 12 months exemplifies our dedication and capability. The funding of 17 technology advancement projects and the upgrading of infrastructure at the wastewater technology testing platforms in Guelph and London have set a new standard for what we can achieve in a short period.
Our focus on professional development, especially with training in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, along with Indigenous Water Understandings, ensures that our path towards innovation is inclusive and mindful of diverse perspectives.
Our strategic efforts have also led to proposing the creation of a pan-Canadian water innovation network—a transformative step with a potential value of $50M. Additionally, we have embarked on an equally ambitious endeavor with the development and submission of an application for the creation of the Southern Ontario Water Innovation and Sustainability Cluster, proposing a $11M+ project – an initiative that represents a giant leap towards fostering innovation in our regional water ecosystem.
The University of Waterloo and Western University are at the helm of providing national leadership in addressing PFAS challenges with a $2.05M NSERC Alliance grant. With OWC supporting we officially kicked off this project to investigate ‘forever chemicals’ in water systems.
Our involvement in expert panel sessions to aid technology development projects funded by NGen, and the support for two significant NSERC projects, including the pioneering Waste to Chemicals (W2C) Alliance and a novel project to measure greenhouse gas emissions from water resource recovery facilities from across North America, have further solidified our commitment to sustainable development and a circular economy.
The Lambton Water Summit 2023, which we were privileged to co-host, provided a vital platform for discourse and knowledge exchange within the water community, bolstering our collaborative efforts towards water sustainability.
On December 2023, the Ontario Water Consortium (OWC) and Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) played host to a Wastewater Process Intensification Workshop, with generous sponsorship from Veolia Water Technologies. The event brought together a diverse array of stakeholders, including technology companies, consulting engineers, academic researchers, municipal representatives, and members of the provincial government.
Collaboration remains the beating heart of our efforts. Our collaborative ecosystem, enriched by strategic partnerships across industry, academia, government agencies, and NGOs, has been pivotal in leveraging resources to create outsized impacts. This robust network ensures that we deliver sustainable water solutions with a unified approach. Over more than a decade of dedicated efforts, the impacts of the Ontario Water Consortium continue to accumulate. Our strategic engagements have mobilized over $90 million in project funding, created more than 350 industry jobs, and catalyzed nearly 80 technology development and commercialization projects.
As we look forward to the new year, we are buoyed by the momentum of our achievements and the insights from our recent initiatives. We extend our heartfelt thanks for your integral role in this journey. Here’s to a future marked by continued innovation, collaboration, and growth in the water technology sector.
Warm regards,
Ontario Water Consortium