The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation has signed a contract commissioning a new study on onsite wastewater management for rural communities. This study will begin by looking at the onsite wastewater infrastructure in Ontario and Alberta, before expanding to encompass other provinces including Saskatchewan.

The focus of the study is similar to that of a project published by the USEPA in 2012. That project involved case studies of fourteen communities to determine the potential impacts of onsite wastewater systems on potable water sources as well as surface waters used for commercial and recreational purposes. Having identified what the environmental stresses were and what processes were currently in place, management protocols were determined for each region along with funding options to support the protocols.

As details become available, SOWMA will provide further information about this project.