Fleming College’s Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment to receive approximately $800, 000 in funding
Fleming College has been selected to receive approximately $800, 000 in funding from the College-Industry Innovation Fund. The Canada Foundation for Innovation made the announcement on Tuesday, May 22, 2012, with funding going to Fleming College’s Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment (CAWT).
The CAWT, which is led by Senior Scientist Dr. Brent Wootton, will utilize the funding to upgrade equipment used for their research of water and wastewater treatment technologies.
“Water has always been a passion of mine,” said Dr. Wootton. “It’s very rewarding to know that working on applied solutions for improving water quality can have such an important impact on the environment and on people’s lives.”
Water contaminated with trace elements is a problem around the world, particularly in industrial settings. In Ontario, it is estimated that 4, 000 abandoned mine sites could be hazardous to public health and safety, and to the environment. It is difficult to remove or immobilize highly soluble contaminants, but bacteriological treatment systems offer the promise of a relatively low cost approach for removing trace elements from wastewaters. The CAWT’s upgraded equipment – which will be purchased using the funding from the College-Industry Innovation Fund – will benefit companies, including Teck Metals Ltd. and Stantec Consulting Ltd., by enabling continued collaborative research projects on removing toxic trace elements in water.
The CAWT specializes in applied research on alternative, innovative and emerging wastewater treatment technologies. The CAWT has an established research track record and has partnerships with 40 companies.
“Canadian colleges are lending their expertise to local companies, helping them to compete and grow,” said Dr. Gilles G. Patry, President and CEO of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. “The CFI is ensuring that colleges have in place specialized facilities to support their role as important hubs of economic growth and job creation.”
About Fleming’s Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment
The Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment (CAWT) at Fleming College is a dedicated research facility created by a grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation. The CAWT specializes in applied research on alternative, innovative and emerging wastewater treatment technologies. There is an emphasis on cold and temperate climates and on low cost, high efficiency technologies, including biological treatment systems, phytotechnology and other environmentally sound technologies. The CAWT has undertaken projects around the world in partnership with many universities, governments and private companies.
About the College-Industry Innovation Fund
The College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF) targets projects that will enhance the capacity of colleges to support business innovation in Canada by providing them with state-of-the art, industry-relevant, research infrastructure.
About the Canada Foundation for Innovation
The Canada Foundation for Innovation gives researchers the tools they need to think big and innovate. By investing in state-of-the-art facilities and equipment in Canada’s universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions, the CFI is helping to attract and retain the world’s top talent, to train the next generation of researchers, to support private-sector innovation and to create high-quality jobs that strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life for all Canadians. For more information, visit innovation.ca.
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For more information:
Fleming College: Leigh McEachran, Communications Officer, 705-749-5530 ext. 1370 or leighm@flemingc.on.ca.
Canada Foundation for Innovation: Ryan Saxby Hill, 673-943-5346 or ryansaxbyhill@innovation.ca