The Lake Simcoe/ South–eastern Georgian Bay Clean-Up Fund Environment Canada: Ontario Regional Director General’s Office

Letter of Intent (recommended, but not mandatory): September 26, 2014
Full Application: October 15, 2014

The call for Letters of Intent is issued to fund collaborative projects with the goal of reducing phosphorous inputs into Lake Simcoe and South-eastern Georgian Bay, improve water quality, and conserve critical aquatic habitat and associated species in these waters. All projects must meet the intent of at least one of the priorities below:

  • Research and monitoring to improve environmental information for decision making in South-eastern Georgian Bay and/or Lake Simcoe;
  • Conservation (e.g. protection, restoration, creation) of critical aquatic habitats and their associated species populations;
  • Reduction of rural and urban non-point source phosphorous / nutrients; and
  • Reduction of point source phosphorous / nutrients

Eligible Projects:

  • Must be inside the geographic scope (see below);
  • Support targeted (e.g., as per existing conservation plans and strategies) aquatic habitat protection, restoration, and creation projects in areas of known water quality problems (e.g., as per watershed report cards, management plans, and studies) and habitat degradation;
  • Support community stewardship projects to conserve aquatic habitat;
  • Support the implementation of Best Management Practices that reduce urban and/or rural non-point sources of nutrients (e.g. surface runoff reduction, erosion control structures, vegetated buffers, cattle exclusion, alternative watering projects and phosphorous/nutrient management planning and recovery projects), assessment studies, and restoration of aquatic habitat impaired by excess phosphorous;
  • Support the promotion of septic system inspections, upgrades and replacements (systems must be 100m or less from a watercourse) in areas of known water quality problems;
  • Support the development and implementation of innovative technologies, techniques and demonstration projects that reduce nutrient loading from municipal wastewater and stormwater systems and other point source discharges;
  • Support the development of approaches to improve the efficiency and effluent quality of municipal sewage treatment plants (STPs); and communicate findings to decision makers;
  • Conduct water quality monitoring to measure phosphorous in the aquatic systems of South-eastern Georgian Bay including nearshore and tributary systems;
  • Conduct research and monitoring to assess conditions and causes contributing to increased phosphorous inputs into South-eastern Georgian Bay and nuisance and toxic algae growth to fill information gaps and aid in restoration and protection efforts; and
  • Conduct and support other research and monitoring necessary to guide the development and implementation of measures to reduce phosphorous/nutrient inputs and address low oxygen conditions and toxic/nuisance algae growth

Geographic Scope:

The geographic scope of the initiative will expand beyond the Lake Simcoe drainage basin, to include the adjacent drainage basins emptying into south-eastern Georgian Bay, including the watersheds and bays of Nottawasaga Valley, Severn Sound, and the targeted coastal regions west of Highway 400/69 north of Port Severn to the French River. The extension and expansion of the program will reduce phosphorous inputs into Lake Simcoe and South-eastern Georgian Bay, improve water quality, and conserve critical aquatic habitat and associated species in these waters.

Eligible Applicants:

  • Landowners
  • Environmental groups
  • Community groups (e.g. youth and seniors groups, community-based associations, service clubs)
  • Small and medium sized business (e.g. developers, industries etc.)
  • Aboriginal organizations (e.g. First Nations Councils, Métis Associations)
  • Conservation Authorities
  • Stewardship Networks
  • Agriculture Associations
  • Non-governmental organizations
  • Educational institutions
  • Industry
  • Provincial/territorial/municipal governments

For complete details, visit: http://www.ec.gc.ca/eau-water/default.asp?lang=En&n=85C54DAE-1

Request for Proposals: Integrating Management of Sensor Data for a Real Time Decision Making and Response System (Sponsored Research)

WateReuse

Deadline: October 9, 2014
Value: $350,000

This project is sponsored by the WateReuse Research Foundation’s California Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) Initiative, the Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence, and the Water Environment Research Foundation as part of the WateReuse Research Foundation’s Solicited Research Program.

The project objectives include:

  • Develop an operational decision support tool that integrates a diverse number of sensors for timely feedback of high priority alerts due to a deviation from defined water quality and operational parameters within the treatment process, which could forewarn of a critical alarm and diversion of water. This tool should be designed to detect variations in system operation as well as early signs of contaminant breakthrough within the treatment train before delivery of the finished drinking water to the distribution system
  • Integrate existing sensors into a network as an early warning system that can be applied to any DPR treatment process and provides:
    1. A sensor network integrated with SCADA, CMMS, and other process control utility
      tracking systems to collect, manage, and store multiple data sets of continuously
      generated data points from multiple sensors
    2. A decision support tool to track system performance, and instrumentation functionality
      for early detection of treatment system anomalies against preset/defined multiple key quality and treatment process parameters prior to any compromise to the quality of the finished drinking water
  • Build on criteria developed in WRRF-13-03 and WRRF-13-13 (research previously supported by the foundation) for decision making based on established critical control points within a DPR treatment process.
  • Develop a framework for sensor data integration using an operational decision support tool based on the above criteria. Such control systems are essential to reducing, detecting, and mitigating any weaknesses or lapses in the treatment system’s safety performance prior to delivery of the finished drinking water to the distribution system

For complete information, visit: https://www.watereuse.org/foundation/rfp/14-01

Advance Notice of Request for Proposals – Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF)

Deadline: TBD

The Water Environment Research Foundation anticipates publishing a call for proposals in Fall 2014 for the following projects:

High-Quality Biosolids
This research seeks to support market diversification by identifying requirements and specifications for high-quality biosolids. Biosolids have been used to successfully recover flood and fire damaged, drought ravaged, and marginal lands as slow release fertilizer and organic matter to help reduce eutrophication in adjacent receiving waters, and/or to help increase use of co-digestion (while complying with issues with the air rules) and/or biosolids with better odor control. Past research in the U.S. has focused on land application of Class B biosolids for agricultural use with very little done to help identify and develop industry tandards/specifications for high-quality biosolids (Class A or even better) and/or to establish better standards for stable, non-odorous biosolids. “High standards” biosolids have done relatively well in a niche marketplace. Some utilities have implemented processes to recover phosphorus from struvite – potentially diverting this from their biosolids product and impacting the nutrient value or helping land application restricted by nutrient loading rates. As utilities prepare for the future – better guidance on manufacturing high-quality, stable biosolids that are fit for specific purposes and markets is needed. This proposed work builds upon decades of land application experience, recent success stories, phosphorus and other resource recovery operations, etc. to help determine the standards and specifications needed by Utilities of the Future to produce high-quality biosolids.

NOTE: WERF plans to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to conduct research for utilities to produce safe, stable, high quality biosolids. Total WERF funding available is $250,000.

Determine State-of-the-Science, Available Technologies, and Incentives and Barriers for the Recovery of Plasmids and Rare Earth Elements in Wastewater
Effluent from pharmaceutical plants – where the levels would be expected to be higher – might help determine the feasibility of recovering plasmids, and using the recovered material as part of a platform to manufacture and deliver veterinary medicines/pharmaceuticals. Due to concerns about the short supply and large demand for rare earth elements across the globe and concerns about mining of rare earth elements in conflict-ravaged and/or unstable nations in Africa – the market price and availability of rare earth elements has become highly speculative. Scientists are now trying to recycle rare earth elements from wastewater.

The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) plans to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to conduct research to determine state-of-the-science, available technologies, and incentives and barriers for the recovery of plasmids and rare earth elements in wastewater. Total WERF funding available is $50,000.

For complete information, visit: http://www.werf.org/default.aspx?ignoreredirect=1

Postdoctoral Fellowships Program – Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council

Deadline: October 15, 2014
Value: 40,000 per year for two years (24 months)

The Postdoctoral Fellowships Program provides support to a core of the most promising researchers at a pivotal time in their careers. The fellowships are also intended to secure a supply of highly qualified Canadians with leading edge scientific and research skills for Canadian industry, government and universities. NSERC encourages qualified Aboriginal students who are interested in the program to apply.

Applications will be evaluated on criteria in two categories:

  • Research ability or potential (70%)
  • Communication, interpersonal, and leadership abilities (30%)

Eligibility:

To be considered eligible for support, as of the deadline date of the year in which you apply, you must:

  • be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada; and
  • hold or expect to hold a doctorate in one of the fields of research that NSERC supports
  • have completed all requirements of your first doctoral degree no more than two years before the deadline date of the year in which you apply, or by September 1 of the year of the award announcement
  • If you have acquired at least six months of full-time relevant work experience in industry or government (experience in a university or its affiliated hospitals, research centres and other laboratories will not be considered) after you received your doctorate, NSERC will extend this eligibility period to three years
  • If, beginning within two years of the date of completion of your PhD, you withdraw from the workforce and from active research for maternity leave or to raise a child for at least one year, NSERC will extend this eligibility period to six years
  • Other eligibility requirements apply. Please visit the NSERC website for complete details

Eligible fellowship locations:

  • Canadian universities;
  • provincial research institutions in Canada;
  • other appropriate research laboratories in Canada; and
  • universities and research centres abroad


NSERC encourages you to undertake research that involves collaboration with other Canadian organizations. The nature of the proposed collaboration must be acceptable to the host institution. Review the NSRC program page for other restrictions.
For complete information, visit: http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/students-etudiants/pd-np/pdf-bp_eng.asp

In addition to the above funding programs, the following are ongoing opportunities:

MITACS

MITACS Accelerate Internships – Standard
Mitacs-Accelerate is Canada’s premiere research internship program. It connects companies with over 50 research-based universities through graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, who apply their specialized expertise to business research challenges. Interns transfer their skills from theory to real-world application, while the companies gain a competitive advantage by accessing high-quality research expertise.

MITACS Accelerate Clusters
Mitacs-Accelerate clusters are an alternative for larger research projects involving multiple Graduate students and/or Post-doctoral Fellows. Applicants may apply once for an Accelerate Cluster involving a minimum of three interns, at least six 4-month internship segments, and a minimum of one industrial partner.
For more information, please contact Anna Ziolecki or visit the MITACS website.