Since
the
start
in
June
2017 the forWater
Network,
led
by
Water
Institute
member
Professor
Monica
Emelko, has
been
contributing
critical
knowledge
to
the
field
of
forest
management
and
water
treatment
research.
This
unprecedented
Network
brings
together
two
very
distinct
fields,
forest
management
and
drinking
water
treatment
technology.
Beyond
bridging
vastly
different
disciplines,
the
Network
also
spans
research
across Canada's
five major
ecozone.
This
synergy
allows
researchers
to
collaborate
in
unparalleled
ways
and
explore
research
questions
that
are
rarely
asked.
This
research
truly
captures
source-to-tap
impacts
of
forest
management
on
drinking
water
treatability.
The
research
conducted
across
disciplines
and
ecozones
uncovers
important
insights
into
messy
ecological
datasets.
For
the
first
time,
the
most
recent
research
findings
from
this
innovative
Network
of
researchers
and
industry
partners
are
available
in
a
report.
Some
key
findings
of
interest
include:
- Fine sediment tracing helps track contributions to algal blooms and impacts of roads on water quality
- Source water alkalinity as a critical component of drinking water assessment and anticipating water treatment for dissolved carbon
- Insights into sampling and diversity of potentially toxic cyanobacterial communities
- The impact of storm flow on dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and natural organic matter dynamics in the pacific maritime ecozone
- How alternative forest management strategies show minimal impact on water quality
- Identifying a framework for drinking water security for rural, remote, and marginalized communities in Canada
- The importance of understanding hydrology flows in boreal plains
- Each forested ecozone and its distinct chemical composition of dissolved organic matter
- Boreal shield research that shows scale-related changes in DOC and how hydro-chemical models of DOC can provide insight for water treatment
Read the full report here.