The Canadian Water Network has announced the names of the experts who will participate on a new advisory panel tasked with framing and assessing the knowledge, practice, and priorities in municipal wastewater treatment across Canada.
In October 2017, CWN announced that the federal government had invested $400,000 to understand the ability and opportunities to deal with wastewater contaminants in Canada. The panel, which comprises of experts from academia, water utilities, non-profit organizations, and First Nations, will shape the national review of known and emerging contaminants in municipal wastewater and our options to deal with them.
The national panel members:
Chair – Don Mavinic
Professor, Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia
Susheel Arora
Director of Wastewater and Stormwater Services, Halifax Water
Cecilia Brooks
Director of Research and Indigenous Knowledge, Mi’gmawe’l Tplu’taqnn; Water Grandmother, Canadian Rivers Institute
Yves Comeau
Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal
Mike Darbyshire
General Manager, Alberta Capital Region Wastewater Commission
Karen Kidd
Steven A. Jarislowsky Chair in Environment and Health, McMaster University
Theresa McClenaghan
Executive Director, Canadian Environmental Law Association
Mark Servos
Canada Research Chair in Water Quality Protection, University of Waterloo
The project will consider the following questions:
- Which wastewater contaminants do we need to worry about most, now and in the future?
- What are the options for our diverse Canadian communities to address these contaminants through wastewater treatment?
- What are the important opportunities and trade-offs involved in those treatment choices, including resource recovery, costs, implications for related issues like greenhouse gas emissions, and socio-economic and cultural fit?
The panel’s work will be augmented by other experts from across the country.
