Most Ontario water professionals are well-aware of the concerns around lead contamination of drinking water from legacy water system and household plumbing components containing lead. Most municipalities are challenged by the expense and complexity of locating and eliminating lead components as well as the lack of control over the private side.

Although many municipal drinking water systems have implemented lead removal and control programs how ever there seems to be a wide range of progress in eliminating lead from Ontario’s public drinking water supplies. Unfortunately, under the current framework, the lead issue lives on in most Ontario municipalities, as do the health risks to many of our water consumers.

Given the financial, resourcing, and public communication challenges presented by the lead issue, successfully eliminating lead from Ontario water supplies will require a coordinated, collaborative approach led by the province and supported by engaged industry stakeholders.

The workshop will present approaches and findings a leading professional land economist has experienced in implementing these charges on behalf of Ontario municipalities. Discussions will focus on these various approaches to the capital and operating rates/charges.  As well, discussion regarding public perspective and feedback to these rates/charges will be also provided to highlight areas of most significant concern to the general public.

Chair/Host:

Stephen Gendron, P.Eng
Manager of Environmental Engineering, Assets & Capital Projects, City of Orillia
Stephen currently works for the City of Orillia as the Manager of Environmental Engineering, Assets and Capital Projects.  Stephen has 18 years of experience in the planning, administration and design of municipal water and wastewater infrastructure and completing Master Plans/Class Environmental Assessments, with additional work in both the Indigenous and the private sectors

Panelists:

Kathy Vassilakos
OMWA Vice President, Stratford City Councillor
Kathy Vassilakos is a member of the OMWA board as an elected official. She has been a Stratford City Councillor since 2014 and is the current Chair of the Infrastructure, Transportation and Safety Committee. She is a member of the Active Transportation Advisory Committee, Social Research and Planning Council, and Huron Perth Public Health Board. Kathy has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Toronto and has worked in biotechnology as a project leader and consultant.

Jacqueline Wilson
Counsel, Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA)
Jacqueline has represented clients before various provincial and federal administrative tribunals, and has appeared at all levels of Ontario and federal Courts. She specializes in climate change, energy and land use planning, and is CELA’s student program coordinator. Jacqueline was litigation counsel at the Department of Justice, where she represented the federal Crown in cases before both tribunals and courts. She received her JD from the University of Toronto in 2010

Cheryl Beam, P.Eng
OMWA Director, Program Lead, City of Greater Sudbury
Cheryl graduated from McMaster University with a bachelor of Chemical Engineering and Society and has been on the OMWA Board of Directors since March 2020. Cheryl began her career at Vale on a variety of projects involving industrial water and wastewater treatment, as well as modeling water chemistry as it moved through the tailings area. Cheryl began working for the City of Greater Sudbury in 2009 as the Manager of Water Distribution and Wastewater Collection and in 2019 started a new role focused on reducing inflow and infiltration in the collection system and reducing leaks in the distribution system.

Sponsor: