Fleming College

City of Kawartha Lakes (Jan. 12, 2017) – Fleming College’s Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment (CAWT) in Lindsay has been awarded a $75,000 federal research grant as part of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC) College and Community Innovation (CCI) Program.

The funding will support ongoing research in partnership with BlueLeaf Inc., at their study site in Quebec to evaluate an innovative Canadian-developed reactor for the capture and removal of phosphorus from agricultural subsurface drainage water.

Phosphorus losses in agricultural drainage waters are among the most difficult form of source pollution to mitigate. This research will help to develop systems to provide the necessary drainage for agricultural operations while also preventing ecological damage to surface water from phosphorus.

“With more than 8M hectares of drained land in Canada, the results of this research will contribute significantly to new knowledge for agri-environmental applications that can provide innovative solutions for the agricultural industry,” states Dr. Brent Wootton of Fleming College.

BlueLeaf Inc. President Barry Husk, “We have been working with Fleming since 2008 and are excited to continue our work with the CAWT team to research our technologies for new applications that can help reduce the harmful environmental effects of phosphorus.”

“Connecting industry with the unique knowledge and applied research expertise offered by Canadian colleges leads to beneficial collaborations and the creation of cutting-edge technologies”, says Bettina Hamelin, Vice President, Research Partnerships at NSERC.  “We are proud to support this partnership that will result in innovative techniques to improve Canada’s environment and economy.”

Fleming College’s CAWT in Lindsay conducts research in the areas of water and wastewater treatment. Working with industry partners the CAWT provides applied research and technology development services to the private sector, government and non-governmental agencies and universities.

BlueLeaf Inc. specializes in the environmental fields of water and agriculture with services that include evaluation, environmental control and restoration of watersheds using an integrated, global approach. Their research farm practices conventional, non-organic agriculture and is part of the St. Francis River basin and the greater St. Lawrence River basin of southern Quebec.

NSERC invests over $1 billion each year in natural sciences and engineering research in Canada. Our investments deliver discoveries, valuable world-firsts in knowledge claimed by a brain trust of over 11,000 professors, world-leading researchers in their fields. Our investments enable partnerships and collaborations that connect industry with discoveries and the people behind them. Researcher-industry partnerships established by NSERC help inform R&D, solve scale-up challenges and reduce the risks of developing high-potential technology.

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For more information:

Fleming College, Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment
Heather Watson, Marketing and Communications
705-324-9144 x 3078 heather.watson@flemingcollege.ca

BlueLeaf Inc.
Barry Husk, President
819-472-9525 bhusk@blue-leaf.ca

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Martin Leroux, Senior Communications Advisor
613-943-7618 media@nserc-crsng.gc.ca