News

Water Institute researchers were among the authors of two recent publications which concluded that oil sands development in Alberta is not polluting the water and air in the Peace-Athabasca Delta area at levels previously thought.

The researchers found that emissions from the oil sands have not increased the levels of metal and organic contaminants travelling to the delta via air emissions.

Trenchless technologies for the installation or restoration of sewer, water main, and other types of piping projects have a lower rate of greenhouse gas emission than traditional methods. Mark Knight, professor, civil and environmental engineering, and executive director of CATT, the Centre for Advancement of Trenchless Technologies, also reported that trenchless methods are more cost effective than traditionl means. In the May 2, 2012 Financial Post article, Dr.

Water's Next is an annual collection by Water Canada which celebrates achievements by those in the water scene in Canada. Each year a selection committee reviews the nominations to select the small group to be profiled each year. Those profiled include people, businesses, innovations and collaborative projects that are making a difference in Canada's water scene.

The Water Institute is pleased to announce that the ARCADIS Graduate Scholarship and Golder Associates Graduate Scholarship are being offered again this fall to graduate students conducting water research. Each scholarship is valued at $5,000. Only one application package is needed to be considered for both scholarships. The scholarships will be awarded on the basis of scholastic excellence and demonstrated success in water research.

The United Nations University - Institute for Water, Environment, and Health (UNU-INWEH), together with the Walter and Duncan Gordan Foundation and the InterAction Council, has produced a book entitled The Global Water Crisis: Addressing an Urgent Security Issue.

A new rural-urban partnership was launched to protect water quality in the Grand River Watershed and support the sustainable intensification of agriculture in the region. A unique network to facilitate sharing of Best Management Practices (BMP) guidelines will be created with the program. The 4R Nutrient Stewardship Program will suport the adoption of BMP on farms. The 4R concept guides farmers in using the Right fertilizer source, at theRight rate, at the Right time, and in the Right place.

The Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund is aimed to help communities take action to protect and restore Ontario's Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River Basin. The fund provides grants of up to $25,000 to community groups for grassroots activities such as cleaning up a beach or shoreline, restoring a wetland, or creating a coastal or riverside trail. Not-for-profit groups such as service clubs, environmental groups and scout troops are eligible.
The deadline for applications is Friday October 12, 2012 at 5:00 EDT

The field research activity of graduate students Jeff Muirhead, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Andrienne Smith, Biology, was recently featured in the Fort Francis Times newspaper. Both are Master's students who are spending the summer along the Rainy River collecting data for research purposes. The research projects include assessing the food web in the river and the effects of hydroelectric dam discharge practices on the fishery.