Call for submissions

The Ontario Municipal Water Association (OMWA) is looking for articles for our next installment of (Water)3, coming this spring.

The topic is Water 101: What Every Municipal Politician Should Know.

Whether they are an incumbent member of municipal council running again, or a candidate seeking election for the first time, we want to be the source for education about municipal drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems that politicians can easily access and refer to. We want to help politicians to be fully and accurately informed about municipal water issues even before they file their papers. And not just about drinking water systems: we want to know how you teach them about your wastewater and stormwater facilities and management, too.
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(Water)3: OMWA’s new online venture

(Water)3 is the new online publication from the Ontario Municipal Water Association. It will focus on water-related issues, events, technologies, news and politics, with an emphasis on Ontario.

(Water)3 encompasses all aspects of drinking water, stormwater and wastewater (also called reusable water and recycled water), groundwater, source protection, including related areas of health, treatment, First Nations, legislation and training.

In 2017, we will have two issues, and expand to four in 2018. In between issues, we will have our Twitter feed active and will publish interim articles, updates and commentaries to keep the content relatively fresh.

(Water)3 will complement our popular newswire service to keep members up to date on issues, events, policies and technologies.

We welcome submissions, advertising, news releases and comments. Please contact us at communications@omwa.org for more information.

Stormwater Fees: Is Your Municipality Ready?

StormwaterNew technologies, new rules and new practices in stormwater management are spurring changes in infrastructure, urban design and development.

In part, these are spurred by climate change – heavy rainfalls are becoming more frequent in many areas – and in part by growth and development that creates more runoff. Existing infrastructure is often hard-pressed to cope with the increase.

However, those changes are seldom matched by increases in funding or capital.

While most Canadian municipalities fund their stormwater facilities through property taxes, many are turning to additional stormwater fees to help pay for rising infrastructure and operational costs.

In a report to the Credit Valley Conservation Authority (1), consultants Zizzo Allan wrote:

Recent flooding events in Ontario have brought significant attention to stormwater management. As flooding-related damage increases, interest in the legal liability associated with flooding and other stormwater events has grown as well. In light of predictions that climate change will make extreme weather events more frequent and intense, physical damage and liability concerns may prompt municipalities to ask whether, and to what extent, they should adapt their stormwater management policies and infrastructure.

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