Globally and across Canada cities are challenged in providing sustainable water, and sanitation services are in the face of increasing water demand due to increasing life quality, decreasing water availability, more stringent water quality goals. Sustainable solutions considering energy and nutrient recovery are becoming an urgent demand. One option that improves upon economic, environmental and […]

Ce projet concerne le développement de nouvelles technologies de traitement de l’eau usée, en particulier celles pour l’enlèvement du phosphore. Récemment, la compagnie québécois Bionest a développé une no technologie de traitement à base de filtres à scories, qui sont un résidu de l’industrie de l’acier. La technologie est efficace pour enlever le phosphore et […]

A coal mine operating on the Snuneymuxw First Nation reserve lands between 1913 and 1939 has left mine waste that has contaminated the soil, sediment, groundwater and surface water with metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Human health and ecological assessments are being conducted in the area to determine how best to deal with the […]

The emission of methane, which has the ability to trap heat 25 times more than carbon dioxide, is lost during dairy manure processing and storage in lagoons before land application. The proposed research shall evaluate for the first time three new methods of reducing these emissions. The methods that shall be investigated include a novel […]

Electrification of transit vehicles is a part of Ontario’s long-term strategy to reduce transportation-related GHG emissions. However, transit agencies and utility/local distribution companies face significant technological and operational hurdles in integrating “off the shelf” electric bus technologies. This project aims to overcome the social and technical challenges associated with a lack of international standardization for […]

Le lac Saint-Charles est un réservoir d’eau potable qui est soumis à un vieillissement prématuré qui est causé par l’accroissement de la population sur son bassin versant. Il en résulte une dégradation de la qualité de l’eau et de son intégrité écologique. Nous pensons que les eaux usées générées par les humains sur son bassin […]

As whales recover from the past centuries of whaling and as global trade compels shipping traffic to increase, we expect negative whale-ship interactions such as fatal strikes and noise disturbance to become an increasingly serious issue. To develop cost-effective and broadly applicable methods of assessing the risks of ships to whale feeding grounds, I propose […]

La réhabilitation des sites contaminés est l’un des défis stratégiques en vue d’une urbanisation durable. Toutefois, plusieurs obstacles freinent leur réaménagement, tout particulièrement l’incertitude liée à leur réhabilitation. Bien que le contrôle de cette incertitude représente un facteur clé facilitant le réaménagement des sites contaminés, il est pourtant peu étudié et maîtrisé, voire inexistant dans […]

A micro-algae bioreactor or photobioreactor can be used for cultivating micro-algae for the purpose to fix C02 or produce useable and commercial by-products. Specifically, micro-algae bioreactors can be used to produce fuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol, as a replacement to conventional fuel sources. The production of these biofuels also reduces greenhouse gasses as part […]

This study will examine the relationship between reclamation methods and when deactivated roads become suitable for caribou, using developing UAV technology to monitor caribou while testing UAV effectiveness in the field. This will be done by establishing long-term cameras along reclaimed road sites, monitoring wildlife movement through the study areas and by completing aerial wildlife […]

Dams can be problematic for fishes, particularly those that migrate. In order to help fish move around dams, fisheries managers may construct fishways (aka “fish ladders”). However, these structures do not always function properly, often because they were built only to pass trout and salmon and are thus inappropriate for other species. This project aims […]

Low impact development (LID) technologies are increasingly part of the urban landscape for Canadian municipalities. Bioretention planters, also known as rain gardens, are an LID technology that infiltrates and filters runoff at the source. Though design guidance exists, there is little data available on the long term performance of LID technologies, such as bioretention systems. […]