WCW26

Registration Required - Cost: $175 + GST
Speakers:

• John Wilbur (Hach/AQI)
• Tyrone Yan (Hach/AQI)
• Rui Li (EPCOR)

Effective water and wastewater operations rely on accurate, accessible, and well‑governed data to support regulatory compliance, operational performance, and informed decision‑making. This seminar will explore common water data management challenges faced by utilities, including data silos, manual processes, data quality issues, and increasing reporting requirements. Attendees will learn best practices for structuring, validating, and managing operational data across treatment, distribution, and collection systems, with a focus on creating a reliable foundation for analysis, reporting, and long‑term asset management.
The session will include a practical demonstration of WIMS, a water information management system used by utilities to centralize operational and compliance data, streamline regulatory reporting, and support advanced analysis. Real‑world examples from utility operations will illustrate how standardized data management practices improve efficiency, reduce risk, and enable more proactive operational insights. The seminar is designed for water and wastewater professionals seeking to strengthen their data management strategies and better leverage operational data to support day‑to‑day operations and long‑term planning.

• Principles and best practices for water and wastewater data management to support regulatory compliance and defensible reporting
• Application of structured data management approaches to improve operational efficiency, data quality, and informed decision‑making
• Practical instruction through a live demonstration of a water information management system (WIMS) and utility‑based use cases

Who should attend: This workshop is intended for water and wastewater operators, engineers, technologists, supervisors, compliance staff, and utility managers who are responsible for operational data collection, regulatory reporting, and the use of data to support effective treatment, distribution, collection, and wastewater operations.

Registration Required - Cost: $175 + GST
Speakers:

• Ryan Cooper, M.Sc., P.Biol. Senior Environmental Scientist, City of Regina
• Emeka Orji, P.Eng, PMP., Water Operations Manager, City of Saskatoon
• Ryan Ledl, Senior Industrial Wastewater Investigator, EPCOR Water Services, Edmonton

Effective sewer source control is one of the most powerful, yet often underdeveloped, tools municipalities have to protect wastewater infrastructure, safeguard treatment processes, protect the environment, and reduce long term operational costs. This workshop discusses the foundational elements required to build, implement, and sustain a robust source control program, starting with the core question: Why are we doing this? Participants will explore the risks and challenges that arise when no formal program exists, including system damage, regulatory exposure, and impacts on public and environmental health.
The session provides a practical, step by step look at bylaw development fundamentals to approval pathways, revision cycles, and the essential components of a modern sewer bylaw. Key distinctions such as prohibited versus restricted versus surchargeable substances, and the differences between storm and domestic sewer requirements, will be explored.
Successful source control depends on collaboration. The workshop examines strategies for managing diverse stakeholders: City Council, industrial partners, wastewater treatment plant operators, regulators, and bylaw enforcement officers. Participants will also gain clarity on spill response roles and responsibilities, release reporting expectations, and the design of monitoring and sampling programs, including what to test for, how to structure inspections, scheduling considerations, and available monitoring technologies.
High risk or “problem” industries will be discussed alongside enforcement tools and emerging innovative approaches such as toxicity probes. The workshop also addresses logistical challenges that municipalities commonly face when rolling out or scaling a program such as compliance approvals, permits to release and pretreatment requirements.
The workshop will be facilitated by a group of industry practitioners from across Western Canada, who will share their experience in managing source control projects, along with the approaches adopted by their respective municipalities
By the end, attendees will leave with a better understanding of what success looks like for a sewer source control program, both in measurable outcomes and in long term system resilience, with practical insights they can apply immediately within their own organizatio

• Why is source control important
• Bylaws
• Stakeholder management
• Spill response
• Monitoring/Sampling
• Problem industries
• Enforcement
• Novel approaches
• Logistical challenges
• Successes

Who should attend: Sewer collection system operators, Wastewater and stormwater professionals, Bylaw enforcement personnel, Environmental professionals.