Fleming College joins Southern Ontario Water Consortium
Following unanimous approval by its Advisory Board, the Southern Ontario Water Consortium (SOWC) is proud to announce the addition of Fleming College as a new post-secondary partner. It is the first post-secondary institution to be introduced as a new member since SOWC’s establishment in 2011, increasing the Consortium’s membership to nine partners.
“Now that we’ve completed the building phase of the SOWC infrastructure, we’ve been able to establish a mechanism for considering new post-secondary members of the Consortium,” says Brenda Lucas, SOWC Executive Director. “We are very excited about Fleming College joining SOWC and expanding our platform across southern Ontario.”
“Becoming a member of SOWC is an incredible opportunity for Fleming College. SOWC’s vast network of unique infrastructure and broad research expertise is unprecedented in Canada. The Consortium is instrumental to the acceleration of Ontario’s water and wastewater industry, and we are delighted to be part of this initiative alongside eight distinguished post-secondary partners”, says Laurel Schollen, Vice-President Academic at Fleming College.
Fleming College brings with it a wealth of knowledge and experience in the water and wastewater sector. Established in 2002, the Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment (CAWT) at Fleming College’s School of Environmental and Natural Resource Science in Lindsay, Ontario, is an internationally recognized research institute. Specializing in applied research, the CAWT’s main focus lies in the areas of alternative and innovative water and wastewater treatment science with an emphasis on cold and temperate climates as well as low cost, high efficiency technologies, including biological treatment systems, phytotechnology and other environmentally sound technologies.
The Centre is led by Director & Senior Scientist Dr. Brent Wootton (currently on secondment with WaterTAP) and is comprised of an active core group of scientists, faculty researchers, and technologists as well as a community of associates from academic, industrial, and private sectors. The CAWT controls a wide range of multi-purpose infrastructure for use by academia and industry including a twin set of Outdoor Research Test Cells, a series of 20 research ponds, an Indoor Greenhouse Research Facility and Environmental Chamber, as well as an Analytical Laboratory. This infrastructure is accompanied by a variety of services the Centre’s staff provides that include on-site testing, monitoring and sample analysis, consultation and project design, and demonstration projects.
In addition to the traditional contributions to research and training, the Centre plays an important role in advocating for alternative water and wastewater treatments throughout the sector and offering a number networking opportunities to clients, partners and supporters. The CAWT has a successful track record of collaborative partnerships with close to 100 companies, government agencies, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions, and has executed over 100 projects to date.
“Fleming College is unique to SOWC in that it is not only the first post-secondary institution to join since SOWC’s inception but also the first college involved. The CAWT’s applied research approach, [water and wastewater] sector expertise, infrastructure and innovative spirit will prove a great asset to the platform. It will help us attract and drive collaboration with industry in need of real-world research, development, testing and demonstration opportunities,” Brenda Lucas adds.
SOWC looks forward to working alongside Fleming College and its other partners to continue leveraging SOWC’s unique capacity as a platform for water innovation.