Water News

Water News is a free, subscription-based service that provides the latest information on water news across Canada and upcoming events.
The news is distributed weekly on Mondays via a collated email and Monday to Friday via WaterPortal social media (X was Twitter). Please note that news will not be distributed on Holiday Mondays and will be released the following Tuesday.  
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Compare and contrast: Massive flood refilled an empty Mediterranean Sea millions of years ago

Compare and contrast: Massive flood refilled an empty Mediterranean Sea millions of years ago

Earth.Com


Five million years ago, one of the most spectacular events in Earth’s history unfolded as a massive flood refilled the Mediterranean Sea. This wasn’t a typical flood – it was a colossal surge of water that transformed a vast salt desert into the blue waters we know today.   Click here to read the story.   Click the following link for more information on Flood.

Compare and contrast: China reports problems at five reservoirs in Tibet after earthquake

Compare and contrast: China reports problems at five reservoirs in Tibet after earthquake

Reuters


Chinese authorities in Tibet have detected problems, including cracks, at five out of 14 hydropower dams that they have inspected since a magnitude 6.8 earthquake rocked the southwest region.   Click here to read the story.   Click the following link for more information on Infrastructure.

Boil water advisory issued affecting more than 200,000 Halifax residents

Boil water advisory issued affecting more than 200,000 Halifax residents

The Canadian Press


A boil water advisory affecting more than 200,000 people has been issued for parts of the Halifax region for the second time in less than seven months after a power interruption at a major water treatment facility.   Click here to read the story.

Compare and contrast: Virginia Once Drained and Dried Peatlands, but Now Eyes Them as Carbon Sinks

Compare and contrast: Virginia Once Drained and Dried Peatlands, but Now Eyes Them as Carbon Sinks

Inside Climate News


The bogs, logged for centuries and recently burned, sequester far more carbon than forests. Now, thousands of acres are being “rewetted” as part of a restoration strategy.   Click here to read the story.

Compare and contrast: Climate emergency: 2025 declared international year of glaciers

Compare and contrast: Climate emergency: 2025 declared international year of glaciers

UN News


Co-facilitated by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), this global initiative seeks to unite efforts worldwide to protect these vital water sources, which provide freshwater to more than 2 billion people.Glaciers and ice sheets hold around 70 per cent of the world’s freshwater and their rapid loss presents an urgent environmental and humanitarian crisis.WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo emphasised this urgency, saying “Melting ice and glaciers threaten long-term water security for many millions of people. This international year must be a wake-up call to the world.”.   Click here to read the story.   Click the following link for more information on Climate and Severe Weather.

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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.