AbWARN.org

Exercise Deja Flu

Jared Serviss — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:05:45 +0000

The post exercise action report for the month long, National water sector pandemic exercise “Deja Flu”, has been posted to the member’s site.

Governments of Canada and Quebec invest in water systems in Longue-Rive

Jared Serviss — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:50:56 +0000

On March 1, the governments of Canada and Quebec announced that the Municipality of Longue-Rive will receive $8,564,486 in joint government financial assistance under the Communities Component of the Building Canada Fund – Quebec (FCCQ) for water distribution and wastewater treatment works. The governments of Canada and Quebec will each contribute $4,282,243, while the Municipality of Longue-Rive will invest $1,513,678. The project involves the replacement of water mains under certain sections of Highway 138, the installation of a domestic sewer system and the construction of an aerated pond wastewater treatment plant in the Sault-au-Mouton and Saint-Paul-du-Nord districts.
Source article – Canada Economic Development, March 1, 2010
Source article – Government of Quebec, March 1, 2010

Financial aid to disaster victims in Quebec

Jared Serviss — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:23:19 +0000

On February 18, Sécurité publique Québec announced that disaster victims from several Quebec municipalities may be eligible to financial aid following floods on December 3, 2009, and January 25-26, 2010; a landslide in June 2009; heavy rains, floods, thunderstorms and violent winds occurring in June, July and August 2009; and a benzene leak in Québec City on October 24, 2009.
Source article – Sécurité publique Quebec, February 18, 2010

New Brunswick to help fund storm surge repairs

Jared Serviss — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:23:01 +0000

On February 20 and 22, media reported that the Government of New Brunswick announced a recovery program for residents, small businesses and municipalities that sustained damage from a severe storm surge on January 2 and 3 on the southeast coast of Westmorland County. The storm caused water levels to increase by 1.7 metres and resulted in waves and coastal flooding, which damaged homes and businesses, primarily in the Port Elgin area. On February 19, New Brunswick’s Public Safety Minister John Foran indicated that the Province’s recovery program would consist of health and safety inspections as well as disaster financial assistance.
Source article – Times & Transcript, February 20, 2010
Source article – L’Acadie NOUVELLE, February 22, 2010

Manitoba’s first flood outlook for spring 2010

Jared Serviss — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:21:55 +0000

On February 22, Manitoba’s Water Stewardship issued its first flood outlook for spring 2010. The first outlook calls for significant flooding on the Red River in southern Manitoba, but anticipated levels of 0.3 to 0.9 metres (one to three feet) lower than last year. The run-off on the Red River in Manitoba is expected to be above average from Emerson to Morris but average from Morris through Winnipeg and into Lake Winnipeg. Run-off on the U.S. portion is expected to be well above average. Elsewhere, flooding in low-lying areas of the Interlake and along the Souris River watershed is also likely. The potential for spring flooding in Manitoba will largely depend on weather conditions.
Source article – Province of Manitoba, February 22, 2010

Security reading

Jared Serviss — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:50:14 +0000

DarkReading provides security news and analysis to help security professionals understand and mitigate threats to their businesses without impeding access to critical information assets.

Link: DarkReading

Governments of Canada and Quebec invest more than $700 million to revitalize infrastructure

Jared Serviss — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:31:42 +0000

On February 8, the governments of Canada and Quebec announced a joint investment totalling more than $700 million to revitalize infrastructure in Quebec. The funding is made available through the federal-provincial agreement of the Pipeline Renewal Program (PRECO). PRECO is a program that enables Quebec municipalities to carry out rehabilitation work or replace water mains and sewage systems.
Source article – Government of Quebec, February 3, 2010

Fire at Yellow Quill First Nation, Saskatchewan, water treatment plant renders plant inoperable

Jared Serviss — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:56:02 +0000

CBC reported that a fire inside the Yellow Quill First Nation, Saskatchewan, water treatment plant on January 30 has rendered it inoperable. Experts were called in to see if the existing system could be revived. Otherwise, the band was preparing options to supply water to residents. In the interim, a booster station at the south end of the reserve was supplying water to the southern part of the community with hope that water would become available to all homes. Band leaders were to meet on January 30 to assess options and the results were to be available on January 31.
Source article - CBC, January 30, 2010

Governments of Canada and Ontario fund new wastewater treatment facility in Kirkland Lake

Jared Serviss — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:34:45 +0000

On February 2, the governments of Canada and Ontario announced a joint investment of $32 million toward the construction of a new wastewater treatment facility in Kirkland Lake. The new facility will provide advanced treatment of wastewater, an ultraviolet disinfection system and systems to treat and manage sludge. The new wastewater treatment facility will support improved water quality in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Basin, which includes Murdock Creek and the Blanche River. Design of the new wastewater treatment facility will begin this year. Construction is expected to begin in 2011 and to be completed by 2012.
Source article – Government of Ontario, February 3, 2010

Government of Canada announces funding for projects in Newfoundland

Jared Serviss — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:06:36 +0000

The Telegram reported that on January 31, the Government of Canada announced funding of $13.8 million from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s Atlantic Innovation Fund for research and development projects in Newfoundland and Labrador. The funding includes an estimated $5.3 million for C-CORE, which is an integrity and security of critical infrastructure project. This project will combine three existing technologies to create a unique space-ground-subsurface method of monitoring critical infrastructure for structural stability and security. C-CORE will partner with the Memorial University of Newfoundland, University of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia Community College Centre for Geographic Sciences, Defence Research and Development Canada and the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment to advance satellite and associated technologies to monitor the integrity of Canada’s critical infrastructure and provide predictive analysis. Another project, estimated to cost $2.4 million, has been designated to develop a unique net available power forecasting service that will provide forecasts of actual power supplied by a wind farm to the local energy grid.
Source article – The Telegram, January 31, 2010
Source article – The Telegram, February 1, 2010