A Canadian Water Network expert panel which includes Water Institute member and professor in Waterloo’s Department of Biology, Mark Servos, is pushing for a more holistic and localized approach to wastewater management as the list of potential contaminants flowing to treatment plants across the country continues to expand.
The panel, which was supported by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Canadian Water Network, undertook a six-month review of known and emerging contaminants in municipal wastewater and examined how communities can address them in the future.
The final report, which was released at the Canadian Water Network’s annual Blue Cities conference, outlines a major challenge ahead for wastewater facilities tasked to handle the growing complexity of wastes generated by society.
Traditionally, treatment plants focused on organic waste and nutrients, sometimes causing excessive algal growth and “choking the oxygen out of the rivers and causing everything to die downstream,” said Mark Servos, a panel member and Canada Research Chair in water quality protection based at the University of Waterloo.
Over the last several decades, other chemicals flushed down the toilet or washed down the sink — including pharmaceuticals and skin care products — have gotten more attention, said Servos. However, new contaminants that may threaten environmental and human health emerge every year and wastewater treatments plants and regulators are struggling to keep up.
Alongside Canada’s current approach of regulating individual contaminants, the panel concluded increased environmental monitoring and a flexible approach that allows systems to adapt to new threats are also needed. Existing regulations should be considered the bare minimum.
“Each treatment plant is kind of unique and each treatment plant discharges into a unique environment,” Servos said. “They need to meet standards for the environment you’re trying to protect.”
This will require a holistic and localized approach; from upgrading treatment plants or separating sewer systems to address overflows of untreated wastewater, to more comprehensive approaches such as preventing pollutants from flowing into the watershed to begin with.
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