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Partners:
NSERC,
Canadian Water Network (NCE), several industrial partners and small
utilities, federal and provincial departments, and UBC as the lead
University.
Summary:
For Canada's small, rural and First Nations communities, contaminated water
is repeatedly recognized as a major source of concern and a perennial cause
of illness. These concerns are now receiving more widespread examination
after the events in Walkerton (Ontario), North Battleford (Saskatchewan),
and Kashechewan First Nations Reserve. There are many other small
communities with water contamination problems that are largely undetected
and nearly 100 First Nation communities across Canada have "boil water
advisories" in a given year. Newer problems like micropollutants lie
beyond current small system technology. We propose to create a research
network, to be called "RES'EAU-WATERNET", devoted entirely to
search for solutions for clean water for small and rural communities.
RES'EAU-WaterNet
will be a multidisciplinary research network bringing water technology
engineers, chemists, economists, science policy experts, industry partners
and students as well as stakeholders in a small manageable network in order
to address all obstacles to the delivery of clean and safe water in small
and rural communities. The Vision of the Network will be to develop and
verify new technology platforms leading to adoption and implementation of
low cost treatment and monitoring technologies that ensure clean and safe
drinking water for small and rural communities. RES'EAU-WaterNet will
include 13 multidisciplinary research tasks, involving 12 researchers from 6
universities across Canada as well as a number of industry partners. The
successful execution of the RES'EAU-WaterNet research program will
strengthen Canadian industrial competitiveness in the field of water
treatment and will ensure that Canadians in small communities have access to
clean and higher quality water.
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