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November 2002 Edition The fearful frustrations of Fenestration For 150 years, the British humour magazine, Punch, had a global reputation. But in its early days few knew it would become famous for a different sort of humour when it emerged that the publishers had once rejected an essay by Charles Dickens on the state of London's drinking water. The British capital had been a disease ridden place for centuries, cursed with poor drinking water quality along with sporadic bouts of cholera which experts had wrongly concluded was an airborne disease. See Tom's full commentary Also in this issue: Industry News WEFTEC 2002 sets new attendance record Ontario introduces tough new Drinking Water Act Innovative integrated fixed-film/activated sludge retrofit could save millions Teaching bacteria to consume PCBs Remote monitoring reduces plant costs Chlorine dioxide trial as a post disinfectant in Wiarton, Ontario In low bid consultant selections - we all lose Environmental professionals need more volunteers Consultants - get ready, set, then export! Building consensus in environmental projects How Canada’s consulting engineers view the future Do consultants have an identity crisis? Engineering in the public sector should not take a back seat to accountants Booming ethanol market increases demand for cost-efficient storage Liquid fertilizer manufacturer chooses steel walled secondary containment system Compliant lining material for domestic water storage tanks Nova Scotia composting plant chooses fabric covered enclosures A wide array of solutions for diverse environmental problems The gas station that thinks of tomorrow

Ontario engineers support Kyoto Accord The Kyoto Accord is dominating the news and is facing fierce opposition in many parts of Canada, especially Alberta and to some degree in Ontario. The cover photo - with power lines cutting across the smoke stacks - illustrates the dilemma facing Canadians who have a voracious appetite for electrical energy yet have had several smog alerts in the past hot summer. Ironically they now are facing huge increases in their hydro bills. Many major polluting countries have refused to sign the Kyoto agreement and there are complex loopholes - such as emissions trading - none of which favour Canadians. The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers has issued a statement supporting the Kyoto Agreement. Click here to see the full article. Consulting Engineering - invisible value from solid infrastructure assets How many politicians realize that the majority of our infrastructure projects were designed by consulting engineers working in liaison with city engineers? One newspaper report this year said that consultants have been on a feeding frenzy‚ thanks to overwhelmed city officials. Lost to the writer was the fact that most of the bridges, highways, water and wastewater projects were designed by consulting engineers and are worth billions of dollars today, with the original design fees long amortized into insignificance. The value of engineering design is profound. Without its environmental infrastructure, for example, Canada's largest city might still be “Muddy York”, a quaint village perched on Lake Ontario. Once again ES&E has invited leading consulting engineers to give their views on the various issues which confront the profession in a rapidly changing world. by Tom Davey

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