Canada news roundup

Stantec to design largest PFAS treatment system in Northwestern US

Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design and engineering, has been selected by the City of Vancouver, Washington, to design a treatment system to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from a high-volume water station—with the goal of providing cleaner, more reliable drinking water for the community.

Stantec will also provide engineering services during construction for the treatment facility at Vancouver’s Water Station 4, one of the first stations in Vancouver’s water supply that will treat water for PFAS. When complete, this PFAS filter system will treat up to 12.2 million gallons per day, making it the largest PFAS project in the Northwestern US in terms of treatment capability.

(Stantec News Release)

Wildland firefighting drones are being tested in B.C.

Heavy duty drones may be able to help future firefighting efforts in B.C.

Alex Deslauriers and Melanie Bitner's home was one of 56 properties destroyed by the Downton Lake wildfire two years ago. 

A fire tornado — a combination of extreme fire intensity, lower humidity and a low dew point — swept through the community of Gun Lake, about 61 kilometres north of Pemberton, B.C., in August 2023, during Canada's most destructive fire season on record. 

A working aerospace engineer, Deslauriers started brainstorming innovative ways to fight. (CBC)

Military assistance requested to help with Far North flood evacuations

A northern Ontario MPP is calling on the Canadian Armed Forces to assist in evacuations as severe flooding threatens two First Nations communities along the James Bay coast.

Guy Bourgouin, MPP for Mushkegowuk-James Bay, formally requested military support in a letter to Ontario’s Solicitor General, Michael Kerzner, and the Ontario Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response, Jill Dunlop, on Friday. The letter cited critical flooding in both Fort Albany First Nation and Kashechewan First Nation, which has forced large-scale evacuations.

 (CTV News)

Cyanobacteria culprit behind Lake Erie's toxin uncovered in new study

n the warm summertime waters of Lake Erie, cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, can proliferate out of control, creating algal blooms that produce toxins at a rate that can harm wildlife and human health.

Now, University of Michigan researchers have identified the organism responsible for producing the toxins: a type of cyanobacteria called Dolichospermum. Their findings are published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

(Phys Org)