Congratulations to Tim Shardlow, who won the Best Poster Award at the 2024 Phycological Society of America (PSA) Annual Meeting at the University of Washington in Seattle! His poster, Molecular Characterization of Cyanobacteria from a Wildfire-Impacted Drinking Water Supply in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, was selected as the top student poster from a competitive field of 23 entries in the PSA student competition.

Co-authored with Dr. Monica Emelko and Dr. Kirsten Müller, Tim’s research focuses on understanding how wildfire impacts cyanobacteria populations in drinking water supplies—an increasingly urgent issue as climate change intensifies wildfire activity. His findings contribute to improved water quality management and risk assessment, particularly in communities affected by wildfires.

The Lewin Poster Award, given by PSA, recognizes outstanding student research in phycology. This achievement highlights the impact of Tim’s work and the important contributions of the research team.

The University of Waterloo has claimed the No. 1 spot in Canada and 24th globally for water resources in the 2024 ShanghaiRanking’s Global Rankings of Academic Subjects — its highest position to date!

This achievement highlights Waterloo’s exceptional performance in water resources, a critical field for addressing global challenges like climate change and water security.
Contributions from the forWater Network, alongside world-class faculty, impactful research, and strong international collaboration, continue to drive this success.

Visit the Rankings: https://www.shanghairanking.com/rankings/gras/2024/RS0217

Essential Information Shared in New Chapter on Climate Change Implications for Drinking Water

​Monica Emelko, professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering and expert in water quality and treatability science, is a lead author of a new chapter titled Climate Change Implications for DBP Occurrence in Municipal Drinking Water, featured in The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry (Springer, 2024). This contribution offers critical insights into the evolving challenges posed by climate change to municipal water supplies.

The chapter explores how warming global temperatures, hydroclimatic changes, and climate shocks disrupt landscapes, influencing the mobilization and delivery of disinfection by-product (DBP) precursors to water systems. DBPs, formed during water treatment processes, are a persistent concern for water managers due to their potential health risks. The authors examine how alterations in land cover, soil characteristics, erosion, and runoff impact DBP precursor behavior, presenting a framework to understand these interlinked processes.

“Climate change is reshaping how landscapes interact with water systems,” says Dr. Emelko. “This chapter highlights the importance of considering these dynamics to ensure safe and sustainable drinking water supplies amid a changing climate.”

Dr. Emelko’s research focuses on safeguarding drinking water sources in the face of environmental challenges. Her work continues to bridge the gap between academic research and practical water management, offering actionable solutions for communities worldwide.

This chapter, co-authored with esteemed colleagues Drs. Chow, Amiri, Chen, and Stone, underscores the importance of collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches to addressing climate-driven threats to water quality.
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As global temperatures rise and extreme weather events become more frequent, the insights shared in this chapter will be invaluable for water resource managers and policymakers seeking to protect public health and enhance climate resilience in water systems.

From coast to coast, across Canada, ongoing research collaborations continue to advance forWater partner priorities.

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta is working with forWater students and researchers to investigate the continued impacts of the 2016 Horse River wildfire on source water quality and drinking water treatment needs. As cyanobacteria have been detected each summer since the fire and carbon character is transforming in the reservoir, reservoir management and treatment response options are being investigated. 
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Halifax Water and the province of Nova Scotia more broadly saw unprecedented wildfires this summer, which included the Tantallon and Hammonds Plains, which occurred in close proximity to Pockwock Lake. forWater researchers met with Halifax Water to provide guidance regarding water, sediment, and ash sampling to assess potential short- and longer-term water quality and treatability impacts of the wildfires.

The Capital Regional District on Vancouver Island is engaged with forWater lab personnel and researchers in baseline characterization of water quality and associated treatability in their watershed. Establishing knowledge about baseline water quality is essential to recognizing change in systems and ensuring resiliency in water treatment.

The City of Calgary is working with forWater researchers to understand the occurrence of taste and odour compounds (specifically geosmin) that are becoming increasingly problematic in their source water and also are running pilot-scale filtration investigations to identify strategies for increased performance and resilience during treatment. This work directly contributes to identifying strategies for balancing source water protection, treatment process optimization, and treatment technology investment decisions.