CNW: Clearford Water Systems Inc. Acquires 90% of UV Pure Technologies Inc.

Via: CanadaNewswire  OTTAWA, Dec. 22, 2014 /CNW

Clearford Water Systems Inc. (“Clearford” or the “Company”), (TSX-V: CLI), today announced the closing of the acquisition of a 90.7% interest in UV Pure Technologies Inc. (“UV Pure”). UV Pure is a Toronto-based manufacturer and distributor of ultraviolet systems for the purification of potable water, grey water and wastewater, based on its proprietary Crossfire™ technology, with over 14,000 systems installed. UV Pure has averaged approximately 10% annual revenue growth with positive operating earnings in each of the past 5 years. Operating earnings for the fiscal year ended May 31st, 2014, were $374,000 on revenues of $2.9 million (determined using Canadian Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises). Following the completion of the acquisition UV Pure will have no debt.

Clearford will acquire 90.7% of all of the outstanding shares of UV Pure for a cash payment of $2.6 million, subject to adjustments at closing. UV Pure’s management team will retain the remaining shares of UV Pure. UV Pure will operate as a corporate subsidiary of Clearford, under the leadership of its President and CEO, Richard (Rick) Vansant. The transaction closed late on December 19th, 2014 and is effective October 31st, 2014.

The market for ultraviolet purification of water and wastewater is estimated to be worth over $1 billion annually, with growth forecasted at 14% annually by independent market research firms. UV Pure’s product line is based on its proprietary Crossfire™ technology that is a generational step ahead of the technology used by competitors. The product line is lower in capital and operating cost per unit of water flow, easier to install, and both easier and cheaper to maintain. Hard water is a challenge for other UV systems and can be purified efficiently and effectively with UV Pure’s Crossfire™ technology. Further details can be found on http://www.uvpure.com.

Clearford is currently the distributor of UV Pure’s products in Colombia, and sees the acquisition as a strategic addition to ClearRecover™, the final step in the Company’s Clearford One™ wastewater collection and treatment system to deliver clean and pure water.

Oceanside Star: Water out of thin air

Via: Water out of thin air / Oceanside Star, January 23, 2014

A Vancouver company wants people to consider getting cheap, potable water from a widely available source: air.

Splash Water For Life has created two atmospheric water generators: one for industrial use and one for home use.

The residential water generator looks like your typical water cooler, except there is no big blue bottle on top and it’s not connected to the building’s water supply.

“The air goes into an air filter at the bottom of the machine and the water gets sucked out of it [through condensation],” the company’s Elliot Mashford told a group of curious residents at Errington Hall on Monday. “Water then gets pumped through five filters, including UV filtration.”

Air quality has no effect on the generated water quality, thanks to the many filters.

Mashford and Splash Water’s Karson Hutchinson were in Errington at the invitation of Arrowsmith Water Management owner Larry Crawford, who said he was blown away by the technology.

“It’s going to be very important technology,” he said.

Mashford and Hutchinson call it “disruptive technology” because it can stop people from relying on bottled water.

The residential water generator can produce up to eight gallons of water per day. The water is recirculated throughout the day to keep it fresh.

The generator runs on both electricity and diesel fuel at a cost of between 3-8 cents per gallon.

The industrial model can produce up to 11,365 litres of water per day.

Splash Water For Life executive vice-president and inventor Phil Fraser came up with the idea during a board meeting a decade ago.

“He saw somebody dump the water from a dehumidifier in the room and thought there should be a way to use that water,” Hutchinson said.

Fraser raised $5 million in financing over 10 years while he worked on successive models. After putting together the 18th model he felt confident enough to go to market.

The residential model is priced at about $1,000, while the industrial model’s price varies according to specifications. The filters need to be changed every year or so at a cost of less than $200.

The only catch is the water generator can only be used in regions where the relative humidity is between 40 per cent and 100 per cent.

“Eighty per cent of the world’s population lives in regions where the machine could work all year,” Mashford said.

On Vancouver Island, he said, the relative humidity rarely drops below 80 per cent.

The machine’s only byproducts are warm and cool air, which can be used to regulate the temperature of a room.

“At our North Vancouver showroom, we used it to control the temperature in our showroom,” Mashford said.

Atmospheric water harvesting has next to no effect on the environment, he said. If every home on Earth used the water generator, it would cause only an estimated 0.0002 per cent drop in water vapor levels in the atmosphere.

The company started selling the generators about 10 months ago. One of the machines is part of a permanent display at the Telus World of Science in Vancouver.

For more information, see http://www.splashwaterforlife.com.

RBC commits $1 M to support First Nations water and ecosystems

Via CNW, June 21, 2013

University of Guelph announces $1 million commitment from RBC Blue Water Project to improve water and biodiversity in First Nations communities

GUELPH, ON, June 21, 2013 /CNW/ – The University of Guelph announced today a $1 million commitment from the RBC Blue Water Project to support teaching and research initiatives in water and ecosystem monitoring, as well as treatment and conservation on First Nations reserves.

“Water contamination is one of the most important health-related environmental problems facing First Nations communities,” said president of the University of Guelph, Alastair Summerlee. “These communities also face serious and increasingly complex threats to ecosystem biodiversity. We have the research and teaching expertise and commitment — and now, thanks to RBC, additional resources to make a difference.”

The new education and research initiative includes student field projects to help them learn more about water and biodiversity. The gift was made through the BetterPlanet Project, the University’s $200-million fundraising campaign for teaching and research in food, environment, health and communities.

RBC Blue Water Project: $2.3 Million in Funding Announced

via PR Newswire:  2013 RBC Blue Water Project Leadership and Community Action Grants announced

June 14, 2013

RBC awards $2.3 million in funding to protect water in cities and towns around the globe

TORONTO-RBC today announced the recipients of the 2013 RBC Blue Water Project Leadership and Community Action Grants, totalling more than $2.3 million in funding for water protection and preservation programs. Awarded on the fourth annual RBC Blue Water Day, the grants support 123 organizations spanning seven countries, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Jamaica and Turks and Caicos Islands.

“Water is the lifeblood of our planet and vital for our social and economic wellbeing,” said Gord Nixon, president and CEO, RBC. “Since the RBC Blue Water Project was established in 2007, we have committed more than $38 million in grants to some 650 organizations around the world working to protect our most precious natural resource, including the grants we’re announcing today. We are honoured to support the important efforts of this year’s grant recipients, whose projects reflect our new focus on urban water issues.”

In December 2012, the RBC Blue Water Project announced a shift in focus to address a significant, emerging issue that is relevant to the majority of RBC employees and clients – protecting and preserving water in towns, cities and urbanized areas. The 2013-2014 Leadership and Community Action Grants are funding programs that improve urban water quality and efficient use, enhance storm water management and protect and restore urban waterways.

“By 2050, three quarters of the world’s population will live in cities,” explained Alexandra Cousteau, RBC Blue Water Project Ambassador and National Geographic Emerging Explorer. “With more people, our urban water resources will become even more strained than they are today. The 2013 RBC Blue Water Project Leadership and Community Action Grant recipients are working to solve some of the most critical water issues facing our growing communities and helping to ensure we have the clean water we need for the future.”

LFP: Glencoe-area residents to use hydrogen peroxide as a secondary water treatment

Community will become only the second in North America to use hydrogen peroxide as a secondary water treatment

By Debora Van Brenk, The London Free Press
Thursday, May 16, 2013

Open wide.

Glencoe-area residents will soon be drinking water cleaned with a process similar to the kind used in some dental offices.

The community will become only the second in North America to use a proprietary system called Huwa-San Peroxide Technology as a secondary water treatment, instead of chlorine water disinfection.

The benefits, says Southwest Middlesex Mayor Doug Reycraft, include cleaner, safer and better-tasting water.

“This is new and has the potential to be used in many parts of the province,” Reycraft said. “What happens here is likely to be the prototype for other water systems in other areas of Ontario.”

It’s new here but not completely untried.

This specific technology, developed in Belgium, is used in Europe in hospitals and other closed systems that require ultra-high water quality, said Andy Valickis, engineer and senior project manager with the Ontario Clean Water Agency, which also operates the Southwest Middlesex water treatment facility.

It’s also been in use since November in the small eastern Ontario community of Killaloe, under approval from the Ontario Environment Ministry.

Valickis has high hopes and expectations of the technology.

“It’s a much more natural substance than chlorine is to the body so we think it’s a safer product to use.”

CNW: 2013 Recipients of Excellence in Water Stewardship Award

Via: Canada Newswire, March 22, 2013

Council of the Federation Announces First-ever Recipients of Excellence in Water Stewardship Award

OTTAWA, March 22, 2013 /CNW/ – On the occasion of World Water Day, the Council of the Federation (COF) announced today the recipients of the Excellence in Water Stewardship Award. The award recognizes outstanding achievement, innovative practice and leadership in the area of water stewardship. This award is presented to organizations, partnerships, businesses, institutions, and community groups in each province and territory across Canada.

Stemming from the Water Charter, adopted by Premiers in August 2010, Premiers have established this new award in recognition that water is critical to human and ecosystem health. A sustainable water supply ensures our communities are liveable and economically viable whether they are large urban centres or remote or rural communities.

“On behalf of all Premiers, I want to congratulate the first-ever recipients of the Council of the Federation Excellence in Water Stewardship Award,” said Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter, Chair of the Council of the Federation. “These awards are an important mechanism for change as they bring deserved recognition to the champions of water stewardship and inspire all Canadians to take action.”

The recipients of the 2013 Council of the Federation Excellence in Water Stewardship Award are:

Alberta Urban Municipalities Association – Alberta
Okanagan Water Stewardship Council – British Columbia
Lake Winnipeg Foundation – Manitoba
City of Moncton Automated Water Meter Reading Project – New Brunswick
Atlantic Coastal Action Plan (ACAP) Humber Arm – Newfoundland and Labrador
Sambaa K’e Dene Band – Northwest Territories
Clean Annapolis River Project – Nova Scotia
Centre for Water Resources Studies – Nunavut
City of Kitchener Impervious-area Based Stormwater Utility and Credit Policy – Ontario
Winter River-Tracadie Bay Watershed Association – Prince Edward Island
Regroupement pour la protection du Grand lac Saint-François – Québec
Lower Souris Watershed Committee Inc. – Saskatchewan
Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council – Yukon

Each recipient receives a glass award, a monetary prize and a certificate signed by the Premier of their province or territory.

Further information about the Excellence in Water Stewardship Awards can be found at http://www.councilofthefederation.ca.

Water Canada: Researchers sound warning about plastics in Great Lakes

Via Water Canada
March 8, 2013 by Saul Chernos

Message in a Bottle: Researchers sound warning about plastics in Great Lakes

When Dr. Sherri Mason and her team cast a net into three Great Lakes last July, scouring for debris, they weren’t sure what to expect. Mason, an associate professor of chemistry with the State University of New York (SUNY), had followed the ongoing saga of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and other giant swirls of litter cluttering the oceans and wondered about the situation closer to home. Might the world’s largest body of fresh water be a significant contributor to an alarming phenomenon that has seen highly durable plastics literally stuff the bellies of birds, fish, and other sea creatures? Anxious about the impact that people living within this enormous inland watershed might be having on aquatic life, Mason secured funding, arranged for a boat, and assembled the resources and expertise needed to draw answers from the lakes’ often-choppy waters.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not alone in the world, and it is somewhat of a misnomer. There are two major garbage patches in the Pacific—one north, one south—and there are two more in the Atlantic, plus a fifth in the Indian Ocean. Each is located within a major gyre, subservient to its currents. Marcus Eriksen, executive director of the 5 Gyres Institute, has visited each of them, studying their effects on aquatic life. From microscopic bead-like molecules to entire cigarette lighters and water bottles, Eriksen has seen it all—and not always floating or captured in his nets. Three years ago, after finding dead birds with plastic extruding from their decomposing chests, he was moved to launch 5 Gyres to confront this emerging but increasingly striking environmental crisis.

Eriksen has always been a fighter. The New Orleans native joined the U.S. Marines and saw action in 1991 securing burning oil wells in Kuwait. Two decades later, conscious that plastics are derived from the very petrochemicals he once protected, he’s looking to combat consumer and industrial waste. “The shift was really just questioning what’s worth fighting for,” Eriksen explains.

Under Eriksen’s guidance, 5 Gyres members have sailed the world with fine-mesh nets and all the laboratory tools needed to identify microscopic particles. The one thing the group has lacked is permanent access to a vessel. So, when Mason arranged space aboard the U.S. Brig Niagara for three weeks to sample three Great Lakes and sought assistance from 5 Gyres, Eriksen was hooked.

Council of Canadian Academies: Canadian agriculture is faced with great opportunities, but also challenged by water-related risks and uncertainties.

Water and Agriculture in Canada: Towards Sustainable Management of Water Resources 

The agricultural sector is an important contributor to Canada’s prosperity and well-being and there are substantial opportunities for the sector in the coming decades. However, Canadian agriculture is also challenged by water-related risks and uncertainties. Growing competition for water, land, and other resources, in addition to the uncertain impact of climate change and variability, will place increased stress on agricultural production in Canada and throughout the world. To better understand this complex issue, the Council was asked by Agriculture and Agri-Food to conduct an evidence-based assessment to identify what additional science is needed to better guide sustainable management of water to meet the needs of agriculture.

To conduct the assessment, the Council convened a Panel of 15 Canadian and international experts from diverse fields. Dr. Howard Wheater, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Water Security, chaired the Expert Panel.

The Panel has developed an authoritative report that explores five key areas where additional science and action can contribute to better sustainable management of water in agriculture.

These five key areas are:

The risks and uncertainties of market conditions, competition for land and water resources, and climate change;

Improved monitoring and data interpretation that could be used to facilitate adaptive management techniques;

The interaction between land management and water resources – including the assessment of beneficial management practices (BMPs), conservation agriculture, and ecosystem services approaches;

Promising farm-scale technologies that could contribute to efficient water use, reduced environmental impacts, and sound investment decisions;

Governance structures, valuation techniques, economic incentives, and knowledge transfer strategies that would help to facilitate better management decisions and uptake of sustainable practices;

Question

What additional science is needed to better guide sustainable management of water to meet the needs of agriculture?

Report and related products:

• Water and Agriculture in Canada: Towards Sustainable Management of Water Resources(full report)
• Executive Summary
• Report in Focus (abridged version)
• News Release

Expert Panel

The Expert Panel on Sustainable Management of Water in Agricultural Landscapes of Canada was chaired by Dr. Howard Wheater, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Water Security, Professor, School of Environment and Sustainability and Department of Civil and Geological Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan. For a complete list of panel members visit the Expert Panel on Sustainable Management of Water in Agricultural Landscapes of Canada page.

For further information, please contact:

Cate Meechan, Director of Communications at 613-567-5000 ext. 228 or cathleen.meechan@scienceadvice.ca

Postmedia: Projects focus on water stewardship

via: Projects focus on water stewardship, CAPP, Postmedia, Feb. 28, 2013

When energy producer Encana was seeking water management strategies for its Two Island Lake hydraulic fracturing operations in British Columbia’s Horn River Basin, the primary goal was to have the least-possible impact on surface water.

“We were fortunate to identify the Debolt formation, a deep, non-potable aquifer containing saline water, unsuitable for human or agricultural use,” says Mike Forgo, Encana’s Vice-President of Business Services & Stakeholder Relations. “This type of formation is not available in many areas of B.C.”

The discovery led to a project with peer company Apache to design and build the Debolt Water Treatment Plant and develop the formation as a water source reservoir – the first of its kind in Canada.

It took a great deal of innovation and collaboration to tap this unique resource, but the effort brought a significant payoff. Some 98 per cent of water needed for both companies’ operations at Two Island Lake now comes from this saline source.

Combined with systems that allow for full recovery and re-use of fracturing fluids, the result is a development with minimal draw on surface water and a low environmental footprint.

The strategy that led to the Debolt find is helping to lower surface water use in other areas of the province. In the Montney play in northeastern B.C., Encana is currently developing a water-handling and distribution hub using subsurface water sources.

“We understand that unconventional resource development is water-intensive,” Mr. Forgo says. “Encana, and the oil and gas industry, is taking proactive steps to address concerns and produce in as responsible a manner as possible.”

THE TRUCK STOPS HERE

In keeping with its global objective, Shell Canada is constantly developing new technologies and processes to conserve water in all of its operations, and it is working with communities to address challenges and concerns.

When the company began operations west of Dawson Creek, B.C., the local community raised two issues: water use and truck traffic. Shell listened to the concerns of citizens and developed a water management strategy which focuses on recycling as well as a partnership with the City of Dawson Creek for a reclaimed water facility. This facility processes sewage waste water from the community that was formerly released into Dawson Creek.

A 48-kilometre pipeline from the plant transports the treated water to Shell’s operations in the Groundbirch gas field, where it is combined with recycled production water and used in the hydraulic fracturing process. The result is the virtual elimination of the use of surface water.

AJ: Centralized systems vulnerable to climate change conditions

via: Alternatives Journal, Jan. 2013 / Lifecycles 39.1

Best in Flow

by Stu Campana

YOU JUST TOOK A WATER BALLOON TO THE FACE. The good news is that, as a Canadian, you are rarely so pressed to think about the quality and abundance of your water. Globally, there is enough clean and fresh water for everyone. Nevertheless, huge shortages remain in many parts of the world due to the naturally uneven distribution of the water cycle (among other factors). Even more problematic, the cycle is easily disrupted: small climatic shifts can quickly bring too much or too little, wreaking havoc on conventional water management systems.

These systems are proving inadequate to the challenges created by climate change. Because Canada has been spared the harshest impacts (so far), we are largely unprepared for major water cycle shifts. Fortunately for us, there are lessons to be learned from many communities (including a few homegrown examples) that have already adopted decentralized water management strategies. What we need to absorb are not the designs themselves, but the principles of resilience and low-impact development, which are essential to building a water system that can withstand shocks.

To clarify, the concept of decentralized systems is intended as a geographical distinction rather than a political one. In this context, both centralized and decentralized systems can refer to public or private and municipal or federal initiatives.

Most Canadian cities use water from a single source and dispose of it in a single location. The system works well enough under normal circumstances; there’s no real need to recycle when freshwater remains in ready supply. This centralized structure, however, is like an 18-wheeler on a treacherous highway, struggling to cope with changes in speed and direction. Enough of both, and it might crash.

Increases in the intensity of flooding, droughts and storms are all expected impacts of climate change on water cycles. “New patterns of wind, humidity, and ambient temperature are already dramatically altering the weather map,” wrote Chris Wood, author of Dry Spring: The Coming Water Crisis of North America, in a 2005 article. “Some parts of the country are receiving more rain than ever before; other regions are drying up.” Moreover, Wood argues that “Canada’s multibillion-dollar investment in water infrastructure” is already outdated: “It will not be able to either contain the massive floods or ameliorate the droughts of the future.”

No, perhaps not. An anecdote from our nation’s capital may help explain why.

For most of one day in early September 2012, it rained heavily in Ottawa – not an uncommon event for the time of year, or one likely to raise alarms. Yet the capital region’s residents were unpleasantly surprised to find that the rainfall had caused 63.5 million litres of diluted sewage to overflow into the Ottawa River. Ottawa’s stormwater system is typical of a mid-sized Canadian city: made up of no less than 1500 kilometres of pipes, including some overlap with the sewage system. The labyrinth of pipes is not designed to handle large influxes of water, and the results are more or less catastrophic when it happens.

Like most of the world, Canada’s cities are ill equipped to handle sweeping problems such as contaminated water supplies and widespread flooding. Ottawa’s sewer system can’t cope with an enormous rain deluge any more than India’s water reserves can withstand weeks of drought. Centralized systems are vulnerable to climate change conditions because the size and nature of the infrastructure makes adaptation difficult. Breaking water management structures down into discrete, independent and decentralized systems builds resilience against fluctuation.