When you add nitrates and phosphates to soil, these nutrients help plants thrive. Adding them add them to water, however, isn’t so good. When nutrient-rich fertilizers or sewage gets washed into lakes and rivers, they fuel an explosion of algae. That algae can clog intake pipes of drinking water plants. It can make it [...]
Ontario has a strong track record of water innovation. Today, companies across the province are developing ground-breaking technology to treat water and wastewater better, faster and more cost effectively. But bringing a new product to market and driving adoption aren’t simple tasks. That’s why OWC launched our Expert Panels last fall. When an enterprise [...]
“Brokers like OWC link opportunities, stakeholders, and drivers and we play a key role in the water technology innovation ecosystem to accelerate technology commercialization in Ontario.” -Rahim Kanji Municipal water and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) consume significant amounts of energy and subsequently produce large quantities of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These GHG [...]
Across the Alberta oil sands, more than 250 square kilometres of tailings ponds hold a hazardous slurry of water, residual bitumen and fine clay particles — the byproduct created from the bitumen extraction process. Before those ponds can be reclaimed as forests or wetlands, the solids content must be boosted to at least 60 per [...]
For more than a century, ozone has been recognized as a powerful water and wastewater disinfectant. It destroys bacteria, viruses and hard-to-treat cysts. It oxidizes iron, manganese and sulphur and tackles aesthetic issues like colours, tastes and smells. It can even treat emerging contaminants such as drugs and pesticides. According to Aclarus Ozone co-founder Adam [...]
On Monday, February 10, 2020, the Ontario Water Consortium (OWC) hosted the third Getting to Net Zero Energy Wastewater event in partnership with the Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA). The purpose of this event was to build upon previous conversations and continue the momentum toward getting five municipal wastewater treatment facilities to net zero energy [...]
According to a 2016/17 report by the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, leaks cost the province’s municipalities up to 40 per cent of their drinking water. As a result, Ontario taxpayers are spending millions of dollars each year to treat and pump water that never reaches the tap. Technology from Digital Water Solutions (DWS) is changing [...]
As we position Ontario Water Consortium (OWC) for the future, we have recently added new members to our Advisory Board. We would also like to acknowledge an update with regards to our Biosolids Working Group. Advisory Board Upon completing the first phase of Southern Ontario Water Consortium (SOWC) and commissioning all infrastructure in 2014, a [...]
In 2014, the City of London cut the ribbon of a new research and development facility at their Greenway wastewater treatment plant. The City — in collaboration with the Ontario Water Consortium (OWC) and Western University — transformed an unused building into a site where water technology companies can test new systems in a real-world [...]
How Ontario’s researchers are transforming the water sector Taking promising research from the lab bench to the marketplace isn’t a simple journey. But with a little help, investigators at Ontario universities are commercializing their discoveries. And the technologies they’ve developed — from high-tech sensors to artificial intelligence and nano-catalysts — promise to change water monitoring, [...]
