Fleming College

Lindsay ON – (November 24, 2010) – Fleming College’s Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment (CAWT) had a direct role in advising the province on Ontario’s new Water Opportunities and Water Conservation Act.

The act, passed on Nov. 23 in the Ontario Legislature, builds on Ontario’s expertise in water protection services and technology. The legislation sets out a framework to:

•    Make Ontario a leader in developing water technologies and services.
•    Make Ontario’s water expertise available to the world through the creation of the Water Technology Acceleration Project (TAP) – a technology hub bringing together industry, academics and government to develop the sector and promote it abroad.
•    Encourage Ontarians to use water more efficiently by creating and implementing innovative approaches to protect our water.
•    Strengthen sustainable municipal water planning by helping them identify and plan for long-term infrastructure needs.

Brent Wootton, director and senior scientist of the CAWT, participated in several consultative meetings on the legislation, which were hosted by Minister of the Environment John Wilkinson.

“The Water Opportunities and Water Conservation Act marks a milestone in Ontario public policy. With this legislation the government is recognizing the importance of water in society and positions Ontario to become a leader in North America in water policy,” said Dr. Wootton, who was present in the legislature for the passage of the act at Queen’s Park on Tuesday.

The CAWT specializes in applied research on alternative, innovative, and emerging wastewater treatment technologies with emphasis on cold and temperate climates and on low cost, high efficiency, environmentally sound technologies.

“With the introduction of the Water Opportunities and Water Conservation Act, we can begin to reimagine how we use water in Ontario,” said Theresa McClenaghan, executive director of the Canadian Environmental Law Association. “This legislation should enable us to plan for the best use of our treated water, for better use of storm and sewer systems, and to integrate those systems with conserving energy use in our communities.”

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In October, Fleming College was one of a select group of colleges in Canada to receive funding for the CAWT from the College and Community Innovation Program – a collaborative initiative between the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

The CAWT received $2.3 million to continue its highly regarded research on water and wastewater treatment technologies and the development and implementation of strategies for the integration of these new technologies with the work of industry partners.
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