Learn more about PlasticNet, a deep convolutional neural network architecture tailored for automatic recognition and classification of microplastics.
Gain unique insights into the fate and transport of groundwater chloride originating from seasonally applied road salt and the efficacy of road salt reduction strategies.
Presents a step-by-step framework for a systematic robustness evaluation of individual treatment processes and DWTPs demonstrating its application to a full-scale DWTP.
Explore the potential, limits and pathways for water markets to contribute to more sustainable and inclusive water management.
Salinization may be an overlooked driver of downward trends of hypolimnion DO concentrations in lakes worldwide.
The first Canadian study to assess whether socially vulnerable groups bear a disproportionate burden of fluvial, pluvial and coastal flood risk.
Assesses the capacity in Dhaka, Bangladesh to support more collaborative approaches to water management
How water restriction activities fare in climate change scenarios.
Understanding the collaborative process during the development of nutrient management plans for Lake Erie.
Examining impacts on water quality associated with a transition towards plant-based diets in the United Kingdom.
Understanding relationships between water security and emotional distress among urban slum dwellers in Accra, Ghana.
Exploring the use of amphibious architecture in historic communities facing the impacts of climate change.
Assessing the grey water footprint of eight economic regions in China.
Using behavioural change programs to encourage pro-environment outcomes.
Results show significant promise in detecting leaks in water supply distribution systems using a data-driven approach.
Results demonstrate the utility of a mechanistic environmental water quality model to assess estrogen exposures.
Integrates hydrodynamic and hydrologic models to characterize flood metal transport dynamics.
Dr. Carrie Mitchell, School of Planning
Despite an influx of funding earmarked for climate change, and a growing body of new climate science, effectively translating this science to planning practice remains a significant challenge. This paper explores the information-related challenges planning professionals in the Philippines experience while working to adapt to climate change.
Dr. Jason Thistlethwaite, School of Environment Enterprise and Development/Dr. Daniel Henstra, Department of Political Science
The findings of this study indicate that there are significant variations and deficiencies in the quality of climate change plans in Canadian cities and how well-equipped they are to withstand extreme weather such as heat waves, ice storms, wildfires and floods.
Dr. Robert Case, Department of Social Development Studies
Rob Case compares the dynamics of community engagement in water activism in two Canadian communities. He finds that reactionary community engagement in the presence of the proverbial ‘bad guy’ is not enough to sustain long-term engagement. His findings are helping activist groups understand how to effectively mobilize and create positive change in the water sector.
Dr. Roy Brouwer, Department of Economics
Roy Brouwer (Economics) and Portuguese colleagues in environmental sciences estimating for the first time the economic value of groundwater protection in Portugal.
Dr. Monica Emelko, Civil and Environmental Engineering/Dr. Alexander Wong, Systems Design Engineering
Monica Emelko (Civil and Environmental Engineering) and Alexander Wong (Systems Design Engineering) provide proof that artificial intelligence paired with fluorescent light could be used to rapidly screen water samples on-site for the number and types of harmful algae species at a reasonably low cost. This finding could have broad implications for improving how we evaluate water in a timely fashion that could pose a public health risk, such as lakes used for recreational swimming.
Dr. Michael Tam, Department of Chemical Engineering
As water quality diminishes across the globe, removing pollutants from our water systems is of prime importance. Conventional water and wastewater treatment processes, no matter how efficient, have a large carbon footprint. How can cellulose nanomaterials make current processes more sustainable?
Dr. John Spoelstra, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences/ Canada Centre for Inland Waters, Environment and Climate Change Canada
Artificial sweeteners are persistent chemicals that do not degrade easily in the environment. This makes them useful for tracing water pathways. It has been widely documented that municipal wastewater treatment plants are a major source of artificial sweeteners to surface waters. But what can artificial sweeteners tell us about septic system effluents in groundwater aquifers in rural areas?
Dr. Michael Power, Department of Biology
Although commonly considered as green energy, hydropower operations can cause severe environmental problems upstream and downstream of the power plant, including decreased habitat quality and quantity. What can brown trout tell us about how hydropower reservoir ecosystems respond to water level regulation? What role do the unique characteristics of individual reservoirs, such as shoreline development and fish community composition, play in how ecosystems are able to respond?
Dr. Daniel Henstra, Department of Political Science
Flooding is the most costly hazard for Canadian municipalities and recently became the largest source of property insurance claims. Escalating damage to property and infrastructure has prompted greater interest from municipalities in policies that share the responsibility for risk reduction and the burden of costs with other levels of government and non-governmental actors.
Dr. Mark Servos, Department of Biology
Municipal wastewater is the largest point-source of effluent in Canada. Despite massive public investment in wastewater infrastructure, major concerns related to the environmental impacts of municipal effluents remain, especially with regard to emerging contaminants of concern such as pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors. Recent infrastructure upgrades to improve effluent quality have rapidly and dramatically reduced the incidence and severity of intersex in a downstream fish population.
Dr. Peter Huck, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Urban development and population growth can place pressure on groundwater-based potable water supplies and stream-based wastewater treatment systems, which are common in various parts of the world. Managed aquifer recharge using highly treated effluent from municipal wastewater treatment plants is a promising strategy for indirect potable reuse, helping to meet increased water demands and associated increases in wastewater discharges.
