Waterline: OCWA's Newsletter

VERSION FRANÇAISE

IN THIS ISSUE

OCWA Wins Safety Award

OCWA Board Member on Most Powerful Women List

Green Infrastructure Funding Stream Open

Cost Savings Through Energy Conservation

Trash Your Bad Habits - Not Your Drain

INDUSTRY EVENTS

January

2020 ROMA Conference

January 19-21: Toronto

February

2020 OGRA Conference

February 23-26: Toronto

AWWAO Training Conference & Tradeshow

February 25-27: Orillia

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OCWA Wins Safety Award

At OCWA, we are committed to the ongoing strengthening of our health and safety culture.

Our employees work hard to make health and safety a priority every day, and we are pleased that our efforts have garnered the Agency the 2019 Gold Award for Canada’s Safest Employers in the Public/Non-profit Sector.

Canada's Safest Employers Awards recognizes organizations from across Canada with outstanding accomplishments in promoting the health and safety of their workers. Organizations are judged on a wide range of occupational health and safety elements, including employee training, OHS management systems, incident investigation, emergency preparedness and an emphasis on innovative health and safety initiatives.

OCWA President and CEO Nevin McKeown (right) and

Director, Occupational Health and Safety Randy Plener (left)

at the Canada’s Safest Employers awards ceremony.

OCWA Board Member on Most Powerful Women List

Congratulations to OCWA Board Member Melanie Debassige, who has been named a Women’s Executive Network 2019 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winner.

This award recognizes the highest achieving female leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. It pays tribute to the outstanding women across Canada who advocate for diversity in the workforce and inspire the next generation of leaders.

Melanie is a member of the Anishinabek Nation. She was appointed as the Executive Director of the Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation in February 2018 - the first woman to be appointed to this role in the organization's 25-year history.

In 2013, Melanie was appointed to the OCWA Board of Directors, where she serves as Chairperson of the Board's First Nations Committee. In 2018, she was appointed to the Board of Reconciliation Canada, where she holds the position of Director/Treasurer.

Melanie completed the Director’s Education Program at the Rotman School of Management and is a certified corporate director, which complements her Master’s in Business Administration. She has been recognized by the Canadian Board Diversity Council in the Diversity 50 and was recently appointed to the inaugural board of the Canada Energy Regulator.

Green Infrastructure Funding Stream Open

The Green Funding Stream – Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) is now open for applications.

This is a joint program between the Federal and Provincial governments with a focus on tackling immediate, critical water, wastewater and stormwater needs for communities with less than 100,000 people.

Applications are due by January 22, 2020.

This is a great opportunity for eligible municipalities and First Nations to access infrastructure funding. OCWA can assist you in determining what projects to put forward and support you in the application process.Contact your local OCWA Business Development Manager today.

Cost Savings Through Energy Conservation

With water and wastewater being the largest energy consumer in the municipal sector, many of our clients are seeking ways to make their operations more energy efficient through equipment retrofits and operational changes.

Incentive programs such as OCWA's Pilot Pay 4 Performance (P4P) have helped municipalities across the province achieve significant energy and cost savings. OCWA has been delivering the P4P program on behalf of the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) since August 2015. By the time the program wraps up this month, it will have generated more than 3000 MWh of annual energy savings for 44 participating municipalities.

While the P4P program comes to an end, OCWA will continue to support its clients to identify, assess, implement and validate energy savings and access incentives through various provincial and federal programs, including the whole suite of IESO programs. OCWA is committed to delivering the most efficient operations in our water and wastewater operations through innovation, efficiency and optimization activities. Contact your local OCWA Business Development Manager to discuss a tailor-made energy solution to fit your needs.

OCWA's Susan Budden , Business Development Manager (center left) and Karen Burgess , Senior Operations Manager (center, right), present a cheque to Richard Meloche , Deputy Mayor (left) and Chris Nepszy , CAO (right) from the Town of Essex for the P4P program this fall.

OCWA's Andy Trader , Eastern Regional Hub Manager (left), presents a cheque to Guy Bourgon , Director, Roads and Public Works, Town of Mississippi Mills, for the P4P program this fall.

Trash Your Bad Habits – Not Your Drain

This fall, OCWA and the Clean Water Foundation launched the fourth phase of our I Don't Flush public education campaign, which encouraged everyone to Trash Your Bad Habits – Not Your Drain. The campaign featured a signature cheeky yet informative Public Service Announcement, which can be viewed here.

Unfortunately, many people are guilty of using their sinks and toilets like garbage cans. It’s a bad habit that can lead to costly damage to homes and businesses, the environment and municipal infrastructure.

This year’s campaign targeted some of the biggest offenders – personal hygiene products, fats, oils & grease, pharmaceuticals, and household hazardous waste. Media including the Mississauga News, Water Canada and Real Estate Magazine featured stories on I Don't Flush, and the campaign was widely shared on social media.

We’re grateful to our municipal sponsors Region of Peel, Regional Municipality of York, Niagara Region, Town of LaSalle, City of Barrie and Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury for their support. While the official I Don't Flush campaign is over, we continue to spread the message on Twitter and Facebook .

OCWA is an agency of the Province of Ontario mandated to provide safe, reliable

and cost-effective clean water services to the people of Ontario.