Author: Shannon Smithwick

Outdoor Recreation

What’s in Your Water?   What’s in Your Water? Influences Substances Concerns & Misconceptions What is it?  Outdoor recreational activities include boating, camping, fishing, hiking, biking, off-highway vehicle use, horseback […]

Ice Jams: frazil ice, freeze up, and floods

Flood What are ice jams? As temperatures drop and river levels decrease, the yearly phenomenon of river “freeze up” begins to take place all over Alberta. The formation of ice […]

Flood Mitigation: Flood and Compensate

Flood External Resources Presentations and Minutes from the BRBC Quarterly Forum on Flood Mitigation South Saskatchewan River Basin Snow Data What is ‘Flood and Compensate’? In recent years, unprecedented flood […]

What is Snowmelt?

What is Snowmelt? As air temperatures rise in the spring, snowpack begins to melt. The water that becomes runoff into streams or recharge into soil is called snowmelt (Figure 1). […]

What is Snowpack?

What is Snowpack? Snow is a part of the hydrologic cycle; it is frozen water. Snowpack is the snow that falls onto the ground and does not melt until temperatures […]

Groundwater in Alberta

How much groundwater is there in Alberta? It is estimated that there is approximately 40,000 km3 of groundwater in Alberta. This amount is equivalent to almost twice the water found […]

Concerns with Groundwater Quality and Quantity

In general, groundwater is not used as extensively as surface water [1]. This is primarily due to the lack of understanding and knowledge of groundwater. In addition, there are two […]

Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions

Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions How does groundwater interact with surface water? The interaction of groundwater with surface water is a key element of the hydrologic cycle. Groundwater moves below the earth’s […]

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Photograph of WaterPortal Board Member Ross Douglas

Ross Douglas

Board Member

Ross has extensive executive experience in Operations, Governance, Information Technology and Strategy at the board and senior management level including Mancal Corporation, Mancal Energy, Highridge Exploration and Atlantis Resources. He has worked in Oil and Gas, Coal, Commercial Real Estate, Portfolio Management, Recreation, Retail and Water and Wastewater Treatment. His experience is also geographically diverse having overseen operations in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Additionally, he has been on the board of companies with operations in Argentina, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Kazakhstan, and Russia. He has served on numerous Public, Private and Not for Profit Boards across a number of industries.

Ross has been active on several industry Boards and committees including the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and The Schulich School of Engineering Industry Advisory Council at the Schulich School of Engineering.

Photograph of WaterPortal Board Member Brian Mergelas

Brian Mergelas, PhD, ICD.D

Board Member

Brian is a seasoned Cleantech entrepreneur with a proven history of successfully bringing complex water technologies to the market.   With over 25 years of experience, he has led various organizations to achieve significant milestones in the industry. 

Having started as the founding CEO of the Pressure Pipe Inspection Company (PPIC) and later taking the helm at the Water Technology Acceleration Project (WaterTAP), Brian’s entrepreneurial spirit has been instrumental in driving innovation and growth within the sector. 

He is an active investor in the cleantech sector and has served on many boards including the Ontario Clean Water Agency. 

Actively engaged in industry associations like AWWA, WEF, IWA, and ASCE, Brian enjoys collaborating with fellow professionals to promote advancements in the field. 

Brian holds an undergraduate degree and a PhD in Physics from Queen’s University, which has provided him with a solid technical foundation.   As a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, he brings valuable insights to corporate governance.