ESI announces trial installations with the City of Calgary
ESI Environmental Sensors Inc. has announced trial installations of GroPoint Lite with the City of Calgary. The city has purchased several trial units of GroPoint Lite to evaluate them for use in irrigated parks.
Alberta is home to only 2.2 percent of Canada’s fresh water. With 80 percent of Alberta’s water supply coming from the northern part of the province and 80 percent of the water demand coming from the southern half of the province, it is essential for major urban centres to find innovative ways to use that water efficiently.
Calgary has been working to install Motorola Irrigation Control systems in half of their 1,200 parks and is exploring ways to complement the system and ensure water is used as efficiently as possible. GroPoint Lite has been designed for turf and landscape applications and is perfectly suited for widespread municipal applications. “With a thriving Alberta economy, growth in both population and in industry is placing increasing demands on our water supply,” said Denis Gourdeau, water management coordinator, for the City of Calgary. “As a first class city, Calgary is working to implement first class solutions to manage our water supply. As such, we have outfitted approximately half of our 1,200 irrigated parks with Motorola control systems accessing weather station data and we are looking to complement these control systems with high quality soil moisture sensors. ESI’s GroPoint (Lite) sensors appear to be suited to our turf and landscape application and the City of Calgary will be testing the sensors in this application for the next several months.” “We are very excited to be working with the City of Calgary to help ensure water is used efficiently to irrigate public green spaces,” said David Porter, ESI’s vice president of sales and marketing. “This is an important step for us as we look to grow our municipal customer base from the Town of Ladysmith, to Kelowna to the City of Calgary.”
Honeywell buys Norcross Safety Products
Norcross Safety Products L.L.C., parent of North Safety Products, a leading manufacturer of personal protective equipment, has acquired Swift First Aid, a leading provider of first aid products.
Also, Honeywell and Odyssey Partners recently announced that they had signed an agreement for the acquisition of Norcross by the diversified technology and manufacturing company.
North Safety Products offers a full range of quality personal protective equipment, including respiratory, hand, protective footwear and clothing, welding, head, first aid, hearing, eye/face, fall protection, lockout/ tagout, safety signage and traffic safety apparel and products. Global headquarters are located in Cranston, Rhode Island.
Jacques Whitford senior principal awarded John B.Stirling Medal
Dr. Arun Valsangkar, senior principal at Jacques Whitford, was honoured with the prestigious John B. Stirling Medal in recognition of his leadership and distinguished service at the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) Gala in Ottawa. The John B. Stirling Medal was first awarded in 1988. The medal is given annually to a member of the EIC Institute, or its member societies, who has demonstrated leadership and distinguished service at a national level.
Dr. Valsangkar, P.Eng., FCSCE, FEIC, is a specialist in soil structure interaction and centrifuge modeling and has over 35 years of combined teaching, research and consulting experience. Dr. Valsangkar is a Professor of Engineering at the University of New Brunswick.
He has published over 100 articles and served as editor of the Canadian Geotech-nical Journal, one of the world’s foremost geotechnical publications, from 2002-2007 and associate editor from 1992-2002.
MWH and Northern EnviroSearch Ltd. join forces
MWH, a global provider of environmental engineering, strategic consulting and construction services, has acquired Northern EnviroSearch Ltd., an environmental con-sultancy headquartered in Calgary. Northern EnviroSearch provides environmental project planning, management, and implementation services to energy, industrial and other clients in the Canadian market. The transaction enhances MWH’s strategy to build a stronger presence in Canada and will allow the company to increase the breadth and depth of its service offerings in the country. With this acquisition, MWH will now be able to broaden its market beyond the oil and gas industry to other natural resource and industrial clients in the region.
Companies to develop world’s largest landfill gas to LNG facility
Collecting garbage and recyclables in California is about to get a lot cleaner, thanks to a joint venture between Linde North America and Waste Management that will create the world’s largest facility to convert landfill gas into clean vehicle fuel.
Waste Management, North America’s largest waste management company, and Linde North America – part of The Linde Group, a leading global gases and engineering company, will partake in a joint venture to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, at the Altamont Landfill near Liver-more, California to convert landfill gas into a clean vehicle fuel. The project offers a unique opportunity to “close the loop” by fueling hundreds of collection trucks with clean fuel produced from garbage.
The companies will partner to install systems to purify and liquefy the landfill gas Waste Management collects from the natural decomposition of organic waste in the landfill. When the facility begins operating in 2009 it is expected to produce up to 13,000 gallons a day of LNG.
Avensys expanding with Willer Engineering Ltd. acquisition
Avensys Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of fibre-optic components and integrator of instrumentation and turn-key systems for environmental monitoring, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Avensys Corporation, has acquired the assets and liabilities of Willer Engineering Limited, a privately-held instrumentation solutions, products and service company based in Toronto. The acquisition expands Avensys Environmental Solutions’ service offerings, establishing the company as a strong presence with the ability to expand product lines beyond its current capabilities, especially in the Canadian markets, where there is strong demand. Willer’s services include professional instrumentation solutions as well as products and services to the industrial industry, in Eastern Canada.
Infiltrator Systems has new site
Infiltrator Systems announces the launch of its new website. Water plays a prominent role throughout the new site, connecting Infiltrator Systems’ evolution as a water management company and its ongoing focus on wastewater treatment.
Since 1987, Infiltrator Systems has led the onsite industry with a range of products that meet increasingly stringent environmental and regulatory onsite wastewater treatment requirements.
Installers, distributors, engineers, regulators and consumers can all find extensive onsite septic system and product information tailored to their needs at www.infiltra-torsystems.com.
The site also includes easy access to the Aquaworx by Infiltrator website. Aquaworx offers solutions for the onsite wastewater industry with the Intelligent Pump Control (IPC) Panel and Aquaworx Remediator.
Hydro International buys Eutek
Hydro International, a leading provider of products and solutions that control and treat stormwater, wastewater and combined sewer overflows, has purchased Eutek Systems, Inc.
Portland, Oregon-based Eutek is a leading provider of high-performance equipment that removes fine grit, sugar sands, abrasives and fixed solids from wastewater streams.
The deal pairs two experienced designers and suppliers of non-mechanical vortex grit-removal systems, giving customers a wider range of product choices and the market-leading strength of a combined business with annual revenues of approximately $60 million. Eutek’s leading brands include the HEADCELL, a modular, multiple-tray set-tleable solids concentrator that removes fine grit with minimal headloss; the TEACUP, an all-hydraulic unit that uses a combination of a free vortex and the boundary layer effect to capture, classify, and remove fine grit, sugar sand, and high-density fixed solids; the SLURRYCUP, a unit that uses a combination of an open free vortex and the boundary layer effect to capture, classify and remove fine grit, sugar sand, snail shells, and high-density fixed solids from grit slurries, and both primary and secondary sludge; and the GRIT SNAIL, a solids clarifier that discharges clean, low-odour solids, with a low percentage of volatile solids.
Hydro’s wastewater portfolio includes the Grit King, an advanced hydrodynamic vortex separator for the removal of grit and sand from wastewater, potable water and industrial effluents; the Grit Classifier, a grit dewatering and classification device that provides consistent grit quality with low residual fecal organic matter; the Grit-Cleanse, a grit dewatering and classification device providing a consistent grit quality with very low organics content; and the Reg-U-Flo Vortex Valve, a self-activating vortex flow control device that provides superior hydraulic performance over conventional flow regulators.
Quebec consortium wins contract to develop wind power
Boralex Inc. and Gaz Métro Limited Partnership have been awarded two wind power projects totaling an installed capacity of 272 megawatts, following a call for tenders by Hydro-Québec.
The two wind farms, located on the private property of Séminaire de Québec, will be operational by the end of 2013. The Seigneurie de Beaupré, host of the consortium’s projects, offers exceptional wind fields. The site is located outside urban and residential areas 60 kilometres north-east of Québec City and 15 km north of Saint-Tite-des-Caps.
The consortium has teamed up with Enercon, a world-renowned leading manufacturer in the wind power sector.
Quebec mining company awarded for environmental protection
A Quebec mining company with gold exploration and production activities in West Africa was awarded the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Saint-Laurent 2008 Alpha Award of Distinction for Environmental Protection. Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion presented the award in recognition of Semafo’s role as a leader in corporate social responsibility practices. Semafo also received the 2008 Alpha Award in the Manufacturing/Raw Materials category. The awards were presented at the 24th Annual Alpha Gala in Montreal on May 15.
BioCanadian president to help spread Al Gore’s message
Marc Trudel, president of BioCana-dian Inc., recently completed The Climate Project training program led by Nobel Laureate Al Gore to spread the message about the challenges of and solutions to the climate crisis.
As one of 275 Canadian trainees, Trudel will spend the next year making presentations mainly in Montreal, discussing how homeowners and renters, businesses and communities can take the actions necessary to reduce their environmental impact and urge others to action.
Trudel was part of a select group of individuals chosen to receive training April 4-6 in Montreal. Each presenter took part in an intensive session about issues surrounding climate change, led by Gore, along with Dr. David Suzuki, and Dr. Andrew Weaver as scientific advisors. Each presenter received technical training to become experienced communicators of a version of Gore’s slideshow, which became the basis of his best-selling book andAcademyAward-winningdocumentary
film, An Inconvenient Truth.
KSB expands Calgary office
Almost two years after opening an office in Alberta, KSB Pumps Inc. has moved into bigger premises to facilitate the company’s growth in that province. The new KSB field office is located in southern Calgary’s Mid-park Court business centre near Macleod Trail. The office is headed by Morris Liu, business development manager for Western Canada.
It was Liu, a long-time engineer with KSB, who started the pump maker’s on-site presence in Alberta in June 2006. The objective was to develop additional business potential for KSB in the province’s booming oil industry – and to work closely with B.C.- and Alberta-based consulting firms handling big domestic or international project work. The initial office was based at the premises of Inproheat, KSB’s well-established distributor for industrial and energy applications in Western Canada.
Environmental group applauds Manitoba’s Kyoto commitment
The Climate Action Network congratulated the Province of Manitoba for taking a leading role in the fight against climate change in Canada. The province has proposed new legislation that requires it to meet Canada’s Kyoto target for 2012 and set long-term goals for 2020 and 2025. “Premier Doer’s government deserves to be recognized for taking this step in the absence of federal leadership on climate change,” said Graham Saul, executive director, Climate Action Network-Réseau action climat Canada. “By committing to short, medium and long-term targets in law, Manitoba is taking an important step forward towards a transparent and accountable approach to fighting global warming.” Under the proposed legislation the province will, among other things, pay for 50 percent of rapid public transit, update building codes, ban the import of cars older than the 1995 model year, and allow zero emission vehicles onto the province’s roads. The government has committed $145 million over four years to implement the law.
Fewer peels in Peel
The Region of Peel’s Organics Recycling Program is celebrating its one year anniversary. The program, which launched in April 2007 to all households in Brampton, Mis-sissauga and Caledon that receive curbside waste collection services, has diverted more than 31,000 tonnes of organic material from disposal. That is enough organic material to fill 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Organics recycling is an important component of the region’s Long Term Waste Resource Management Strategy, which aims to divert 70 per cent of waste from disposal by 2016. As a result of the Organics Recycling Program, the region’s waste diversion rate has increased from 45 percent in 2006 to 50 per cent in 2007.
Canada, Russia partner in soil reclamation study
A scientific research program is in the making between Moscow State University, Research Institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, MIRARCO’s Centre for Environmental Monitoring (CEM) and Laurentian University. Dr. Graeme Spiers, Director of CEM, and Dr. Peter Beckett, Professor of Biology – both members of Sudbury’s Regreening Committee – recently returned from a two- week long tour across Russia, Kazakhstan and Siberia. They spoke to diverse scien-tific audiences at conferences, universities, and Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Research Institutes.The proposed new research collaboration program will pool the knowledge of Canadian and Russian scientists and academics. “The goal of this new initiative is to further our understanding of ecosystem processes in northern and permafrost regions that have been impacted by emissions from copper-nickel mining and smelting operations,” said Spiers. Of particular interest was a visit to the Karabash region in the Ural Mountains. Copper smelting scarred the land and turned it into the kind of moonscape for which Sudbury was so well known prior to its regreening initiatives.
The steering committee is preparing a memorandum of understanding between the Canadian and Russian institutions. Other organizations, as well as government and industrial partners from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia and Canada will be invited to join the initiative.
SAIT gives $100,000 for industry research
Two projects at SAIT Polytechnic are the first to be awarded cash from the Institute’s new Applied Research Fund. The Industrial Water and Wastewater Pre-Treatment project was awarded $50,000 for equip-ment.The purpose of the project is to help eliminate water contaminants and prevent them from entering advanced water treatment systems. It will be integrated with other treatment technologies to provide high quality water for recycle and reuse. Project partners are Volker-Stevin Contracting and the National Research Council – Industrial Research Assistance Program.
The Polarization Controller for Quantum Key Distribution project was granted $50,000 to cover salaries for two student researchers.
