Watermark > Winter 2001 > Association Reports

Association Reports

• CWWA News Update—by Frank Belfry, CWWA Director
• WEF Director’s Report: What do Canadian WEF Members Want?—by Neal Carley, WEF Director

CWWA News Update (Association Report)

By Frank Belfry, CWWA Director

CWWA Board of Directors Meeting

The CWWA Board of Directors Meeting and Annual Management Seminar were held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, September 23 - 25, 2001, in conjunction with the Atlantic Canada Water Works Association’s Annual Conference. Highlights of the Board of Directors’ meeting were as follows:

• Priority for the Board in the next few months is to monitor the development of a federal strategy to manage municipal effluents, and the continuing federal interest in developing national water standards (including Bill S-18).
• CWWA to develop a strategy for input to the Canadian Standards Council on the International Standards Organization initiative to develop standards for the performance of water and wastewater utilities, particularly with respect to customer service.
• CWWA to continue to monitor and support the National Research Council and Federation of Canadian Municipalities project to develop a Best Practices Guide for sustainable municipal infrastructure.
• CWWA to be involved in the implementation of the International Water Treatment Alliance program developed by AWWA to provide certification to water utilities. The implementation of the program to include special requirements for Quebec and British Columbia.
• CWWA will continue to work with CSA to improve their standards and testing protocols for six litre toilets.
• CWWA will continue to support the development of standards for pretreatment devices for industrial and commercial applications.

The Board adopted policy and position statements on lead service replacement, the National Pollutant Release Inventory, sewer use bylaws and universal metering. The documents are available on the CWWA Web site at www.cwwa.org and will be published in the CWWA Members’ Briefing Book. Draft positions were reviewed for Bill S-18: an Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (safe drinking water), media stories on drug residuals in water, the performance of six litre toilets and the International Water Treatment Alliance.

Senate Bill S-18

The CWWA made a presentation on October 23 to the Senate Committee on Bill S-18. The proposed legislation would have water supply subject to the Food and Drug Act. The position of CWWA is as follows:

• Bill S-18 not proceed as that would set up a competing and duplicate legislative framework.
• The federal involvement in drinking water safety can be strengthened in other areas including:
  • health risk assessment and management of water quality parameters
  • infrastructure programs
  • training and education of operators

The presentation by CWWA was followed by FCM the next day and they also did not support the proposed legislation.

The 2001/2002 Board includes the following individuals:

• President Ron Patterson, Amherst, Nova Scotia
• 1st Vice-President Barry MacBride, Winnipeg, Manitoba
• 2nd Vice-President André Proulx, representing Ontario Water Works Assoc.
• Secretary-Treasurer André Aubin, Ville de Montréal, Quebec
• Member at Large Bob Jones, Greater Vancouver Regional District
• Past-President Doug Scott, City of Thunder Bay

WEF Director’s Report: What do Canadian WEF Members Want?

By Neal Carley, WEF Director

Surprisingly, this is not an easy a question. Aside from lower taxes, free beer, and the Stanley Cup belonging to a Canadian team (yes, even Toronto), we can only guess what our Canadian WEF members want.

As the WEF Director for BC and the Yukon, I am guessing that you are concerned about the Canadian-US exchange rate and the value of your WEF membership. The WEF Directors across Canada are actively reviewing the best way to maximize the value of WEF membership for Canadian professionals.

In August, we initiated the “Canadian Dollar at Par” offer on WEF technical publications ordered on-line and we just negotiated an extension of the free shipping for Canadians to June 30, 2002. As a reminder, the procedure is simple.

• Go to the WEF Web site, www.wef.org
• Click on the Bookstore
• Select the products you want. (Note: Some restrictions apply)
• Enter the promotion code “Canada1” and the new prices will be calculated

We are reviewing other WEF services, such as Government Affairs in Canada, seminar pricing, and the Canadian events at WEFTEC. Just like the BCWWA, WEF hired a new Executive Director, Bill Bertera, who is expected to bring a new perspective to the Federation. This is the perfect time to make changes to help Canadian professionals.

I would like to hear from you as to how WEF can better serve you as a Canadian professional. Please send your views and comments to me at ncarley@ca.inter.net or call me at (604) 685-1442.