Formed in 2000, the Ontario Water Works Research Consortium (OWWRC) has proven to be an effective model for cooperative research, bringing together municipalities that draw their drinking water from Lake Ontario with federal government, provincial government and university researchers.

Our Mission

The original mission of the OWWRC:

• To link member utilities to government and university researchers and through those links facilitate the completion of research that is of value to member communities.

New for 2006/2007 is an additional mission:

• To ensure the long-term, proactive and strategic protection of Lake Ontario-based drinking water supplies.
  

OWWRC Background

The western basin of Lake Ontario is the source of drinking water for millions of Ontarians. In 1998 and 1999, residents of this region were impacted by prolonged and intense taste and odour in their drinking water. Water utilities took effective action - they initiated and funded intensive research into the cause and control of taste and odour and invested in control technologies at the water treatment plants.

Beginning with the initial field work in 1999, the Taste & Odour (T&O) research program has focused on understanding the origin of late summer taste and odour in drinking water including the physical, chemical and biological factors that may affect the intensity of these events.

In 2002, prompted by numerous complaints by residents, the OWWRC expanded its research scope to include the cause and control of attached algae along the north shore of Lake Ontario. The Attached Algae research program focuses on understanding the factors that influence the growth of Cladophora and the related periphyton of Lake Ontario.

Through these two main programs, the OWWRC aims to assist member utilities with decision-making on control options, the management of events and communication to their customers.

New in 2006 were two major changes aimed at effective protection of Lake Ontario drinking water. The first change was the transformation of the T&O research program into the Source Protection research program. This transformation ensures the collection and analysis of critical data to allow an ever improved understanding of Lake Ontario as a source of drinking water.

The second change was the formation of a wider collaborative of source water protection stakeholders. This collaborative includes the municipalities from Niagara Region to Prince Edward County as well as the conservation authorities and a wider range of scientists and consultants. In 2006 phase 1 of the "Collaborative Study to Protect Lake Ontario Drinking Water" was initiated. This research is directly funded through the Ministry of the Environment's Source Protection Technical Studies Grant Program in support of the Clean Water Act, 2006.

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