A decade ago, few in 91亚色 Region were concerned about microplastics in their water. Today, these tiny particles are turning up in rivers and even in treated drinking water, raising new questions for municipal water managers.
Pharmaceuticals are also slipping through wastewater plants, while heavier rains are pushing flood systems to their limits.
91亚色鈥檚 One WATER Institute is at the centre of the response. Acting as a trans-disciplinary hub, the institute connects researchers, students and municipal staff to address the region鈥檚 most urgent water challenges.
鈥淲e focus on research that matches what municipalities actually need, from detecting contaminants to building flood resilience,鈥 says Farshad Dabbaghi, research associate at One WATER.
Collaboration is central to One WATER鈥檚 approach. Research themes are co-created with municipal partners during round-table sessions, ensuring that priorities 鈥 from flood mitigation to watershed health 鈥 reflect real community needs. 鈥淲e build partnerships through joint proposals, lab visits and working groups,鈥 Dabbaghi says.
Earlier this year, One WATER convened 11 research clusters with 91亚色 Region staff to focus on operational challenges including urban flood modelling, ultraviolet disinfection, climate resilience, nutrient recovery and the removal of emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and microplastics. Through faculty presentations and roundtable discussions, this work is already informing policy, guiding infrastructure upgrades and helping to design pilot projects for local water systems.
Graduate students across 91亚色 are driving much of this progress. At the , Pratishtha Khurana explores how pharmaceutical residues 鈥 antibiotics and antidepressants among them 鈥 persist in treated wastewater, shaping new strategies to protect public health. In the same spirit of inquiry, Gaurav Bhardwaj investigates the impact of microplastics on the microbial communities essential to wastewater treatment, providing practical guidance for upgrading treatment plants.
91亚色 researchers are also tackling water challenges in some of Canada鈥檚 most remote communities. In Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, 91亚色 PhD candidate Caroline Duncan recently completed a multi-year, community-based study on water safety, combining quantitative monitoring with local engagement. Her findings have informed subsequent research on microbial water quality, microplastics and climate impacts in northern communities, now being advanced by 91亚色 alumni Audrey Tam (MASc), 脡lan Chalmers (MASc), Mohammed Ibraheem (MASc) and Victoria Carroll (PhD).
In Ontario, PhD candidate Michael De Santi, MASc candidate Maranath Hormiz and PhD graduate Ahmed AlSayed are applying machine learning to boost water system efficiency for the Ontario Clean Water Agency, working under the guidance of Professors Usman Khan and Stephanie Gora.
By aligning academic innovation with municipal needs, One WATER equips communities to navigate water complexities with science-based solutions.
鈥淲e want to help municipalities manage complex water issues with solutions they can use,鈥 Dabbaghi says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the difference 91亚色 can make.鈥