Message from the Chair
Welcome to the Walkerton Clean Water Centre website. I am proud to serve as the Centre's second Chair of the Board of Directors, following in the footsteps of Murray Elston.
Murray, who is well known to Walkerton and the broader region, served with distinction as Board Chair over the last six years, leading the Centre from its formation back in 2004. At that time, the Centre was very much at the conceptual stage, and it was left initially to Murray and the Board and then with the addition of
C.E.O. Dr. Saad Jasim to breathe life into the Centre.
Five short years later, in partnership with the Government of Ontario and specifically the Ministry of the Environment, thanks to their leadership, the Centre has lived up to its vision to 'become a world class institute dedicated to safe and secure drinking water for the people of Ontario'. It offers exceptional operator training, having trained over 23,000 water professionals to date. It excels in innovative approaches to training, including the use of a state of the art technology demonstration facility for practical, hands-on training, and the mobile units to enable this training to reach drinking water system operators throughout the far reaches of Ontario. The Centre also sponsors, supports and undertakes leading edge drinking water research which contributes to the knowledge base that is necessary to address some of the challenges in providing a safe water supply.
None of this would be possible without the dedication and professionalism of the staff and trainers at the Walkerton Clean Water Centre, led by Dr. Jasim. This commitment was recognized by the Government of Ontario last year when it gave the prestigious Emerald Award for exceptional public service to a number of the Centre's staff.
The year ahead will be an exciting one for the Centre and for Walkerton. We are moving into our permanent facility, fulfilling the vision of the physical presence in Walkerton that Associate Chief Justice of Ontario, The Honourable Dennis O'Connor, painted. The new building will house the Centre's staff and operations as well as an expanded training and Technology Demonstration Facility. The building will be LEED certified, striving to attain a Gold rating. I encourage water professionals throughout the province to visit our new facility in the coming year and to take full advantage of our excellent training, resources and equipment.
We will soon be approaching the 10th anniversary of the Walkerton tragedy. A decade has passed since that fateful Victoria Day week-end in 2000 when Walkerton was devastated by contamination in its water supply which resulted in the death of 7 people and made over 2,000 ill, some with long term health effects.
The growth and confidence of the WCWC as a centre of excellence in training and facilitator of research mirrors the growth and confidence of the community that supports it. Walkerton is back to being a thriving, growing town, and the Centre is proud to be located in this part of Ontario and contributing to its vitality.
Rui De Carvalho
Chair, Board of Directors
Walkerton Clean Water Centre
