During a visit at the University of Waterloo, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $12 million in funding dedicated to bringing industry and academic researchers together for innovative water projects.
Trudeau and Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains met with Velocity Science student entrepreneurs. “It’s always a pleasure to see so many innovative, enthusiastic young people and extraordinarily inspiring Faculty. Thank you so much for showing me some of the great work that’s being done here at this amazing institution,” said Trudeau. “We can’t wait to see what our most innovative Canadian companies have in store for our communities. The future is within our grasp and nowhere is that more clear than in the extraordinary community of Waterloo.”
The $12 million comes from the Federal Economic Development Agency of Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), and will be provided to the Southern Ontario Water Consortium (SOWC) in the University of Waterloo. SOWC fosters business-led partnerships with post-secondary institutions to create innovative solutions for southern Ontario’s water sector.
Some of the projects from scientists at the University of Waterloo include a technology that removes 90 to 98 percent of phosphorus from residential wastewater from Lingling Wu, who is working with Waterloo Biofilter Systems; Canada Research Chair Mark Servos’ lab which is evaluating the exposure of personal care and pharmaceutical products in the environment; and Carol Ptacek and Sherry Schiff analyzing groundwater samples for water soluble emerging contaminants and looking at artificial sweeteners in the Grand River respectively.
According to SWOC, which provides funding and assistance with business development through its Advanced Water Technologies program, up to 90 businesses and not-for-profit organizations in southern Ontario are expected to benefit from the funding through the development and advancement of up to 80 collaborative water projects. The investment is expected to support at least 14 new partnerships and create or maintain 520 jobs over the course of the project.
Photo courtesy University of Waterloo.