WCOWMA is holding Septic Awareness Week from September 19 - 23.

FREE workshops are scheduled across all of the western provinces, and registration is now open!

We'd love for you to help spread the word. Invite clients, talk to your Regional District and health officials, invite friends or family to attend, and join us on social media. 

There is no cost for these informative workshops. 
 

Please Join Us For A Virtual Septic Sense Workshop:

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

AB Septic Sense Zoom Webinar

When: Sep 19, 2022 07:00 PM MST
Topic: Alberta Septic Sense

Register in advance for this webinar.

 

BC Septic Sense Zoom Webinar

When: Sep 20, 2022 07:00 PM PST
Topic: Septic Sense

Register in advance for this webinar.

 

SK Septic Sense Zoom Webinar

When: Sep 21, 2021 07:00 PM MST
Topic: Saskatchewan Septic Sense

Register in advance for this webinar.

 

MB Septic Sense Zoom Webinar

When: Sep 22, 2022 07:00 PM CST
Topic: Manitoba Septic Sense

Register in advance for this webinar.


Did you know? The AOWMA has held 8 Septic Sense Workshops so far in 2022. Regional Districts in any of the Western provinces are welcome to contact WCOWMA to arrange a Septic Sense Workshop in their area.

Saskatchewan Ministry of Health has reached out to SOWMA to gather information from industry as they undertake a review of the Private Sewage Works Regulation and the Shoreline Pollution Control Regulation.

A survey of this nature was first undertaken in 2017/2018 and that data was used to inform changes that the industry was hoping to see in the regulatory framework at the same time the 2018 Saskatchewan Onsite Wastewater Disposal Guide was released, however the regulations were not updated in conjunction with the release of the SOWDG as had been expected.

Unfortunately, once COVID became the primary focus, work on the regulatory framework for private sewage was set aside.  That work is now being revived and a survey will help to determine the state of the industry in the four years since the new SOWDG was released.

SOWMA will be contacting its members and industry stakeholders to participate in this short survey throughout August and September 2022. 

WCOWMA and its provincial chapters are undergoing some long-overdue updates to our websites. The website build is coming along nicely and we will be moving from the ‘construction’ phase to the ‘editing’ phase in the next couple of weeks.

Once the sites are fully reconstructed, they will be made live. We are very excited about the coming changes, which should provide a better interface and a more satisfactory user experience for both members and the general public. The new website will feature enhanced member resources as well as an expanded homeowner section. 

An interprovincial committee representing all four western provincial associations met on July 14 to begin developing a framework for an inspections training course. The industry is receiving more and more demands for private inspections for such things as property sales and for other reasons.

The initial meeting looked at provincial requirements for inspection services and began the review of definitions for both performance and compliance inspections.

In BC, private inspectors perform both performance and compliance inspections, however in the prairie provinces, environmental health officers or safety codes officers perform compliance inspections and industry performs performance inspections, typically for real estate purposes.

The committee will be developing required core competencies for inspectors, defining the role of inspectors for both compliance and performance inspections, and then developing curriculum that meets the provincial requirements for each province. Currently, as BC has the most developed provincial regulatory requirements for inspectors the committee will use that framework as the basis to build curriculum around. The curriculum will then be adapted to each provincial jurisdiction.

The Association offices often gets calls regarding various technical aspects of installation and recently there have been a number of requests for examples on how to construct and install monitoring ports, also called observation ports. All Western Provinces require monitoring/observation ports to allow for inspection within the soil treatment component to determine whether ponding is present. Placement of the monitoring/ observation ports in the soil treatment component may vary from province to province, but a general outline is included here. More detailed information is included in each province’s Standard. Key information from each Standard is listed from west to east. Diagrams for both construction and placement are included at the end of the article.

Opportunities are now available to participate in the Standard of Practice Update Training. This two-day training is now required for those wishing to maintain their Certificate of Competency in Private Sewage (PSDS ticket). 

August 18-19, 2022 | Virtual Classroom
August 30-31, 2022 | Red Deer, AB
September 8-9, 2022 | Virtual Classroom
September 15-16, 2022 | Calgary, AB
September 22-23, 2022 | Virtual Classroom
September 27-28, 2022 | Virtual Classroom
September 29-30, 2022 | Edmonton, AB

Register online now

Print copies of the new Standard of Practice Manuals are available through the AOWMA storefront.

Students who order the SOP training and the SOP manual at the same time can save on shipping. 

Digital copies can be downloaded from the Safety Codes Council. 

The AOWMA has seen approximately 60 students go through our practitioner training since the beginning of this year. 

Our next session is open for registration, and you can sign up here.

August 9 – 12 & August 23 – 26, 2022 | Virtual Classroom

The MOWMA hosted a Site & Soils Evaluation Field Day in Teulon on Monday, July 18th.

These practical training days are a great opportunity to get hands-on experience evaluating a site, as well as practicing hand texturing and sampling. Installers who have recently completed the Onsite Wastewater Practitioner Training Program will be able to take their new knowledge and apply it on-site. Experienced designers and installers should also consider this opportunity to continue their education.

Thank you to Brett Gaudry site host.

Those wishing to attend future workshops, should keep an eye on our website or this newsletter for future dates. 

The WCOWMA-BC hosted a Site & Soils Evaluation Field Day in Kamloops on Monday, July 11th. It was a beautiful day, but very hot, reaching the mid-thirties by the afternoon.

This practical training day is a great opportunity to get hands-on experience evaluating a site, as well as practicing hand texturing and sampling. Installers who have recently completed the Onsite Wastewater Practitioner Training Program will be able to take their new knowledge and apply it on-site. Experienced designers and installers should also consider this opportunity to continue their education. 

The Association has held four Site and Soil Evaluation Field days throughout the province this year. Of the four site and soil days, two of them have the potential to be installation sites, along with a site from last year. Installation days will announced for the late summer / early fall. 

The Western Canada Onsite Wastewater Management Association provides an excellent industry training program for Onsite Wastewater Professionals throughout Western Canada.

This training program has been found to meet or exceed the requirements of the Agreement on Internal Trade, the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement, and the New West Partnership.

Training, including the number of days, varies by province. More details on each program can be found on the provincial training pages, or by contacting our office.

Students will be required to complete an online training component prior to attending the classroom sessions.

Dates to be Announced

Contact the association office at 1-855-872-2645 for more information.
 

 

Dates to be Announced

Ccontact the association office at 855-872-2650 for more information.

Virtual Classroom
August 9 – 12, 2022
August 23 – 26, 2022

Register online or contact the association office at 877-489-7471 for more information.  

 

 

The Provincial associations have all been receiving training applicants who are being funded by the various federal/provincial job grants that are currently available.  

Funding varies between the provinces, but can be upwards of $10,000 per applicant. Employers may have to pay a portion of the tuition and training must involve more than 24 hours of contact/study.

For more information on the job grants in your province, click on the appropriate link below: 

Alberta
https://www.alberta.ca/canada-alberta-job-grant.aspx

British Columbia
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/economic-development/funding-and-grants/bc-employer-training-grant

Saskatchewan
https://www.saskatchewan.ca/business/hire-train-and-manage-employees/apply-for-the-canada-saskatchewan-job-grant

Manitoba (NEW!)
https://gov.mb.ca/jec/busdev/financial/cmjg/index.html 

You can keep up-to-date on industry events on our events pages:

Alberta
British Columbia
Saskatchewan
Manitoba

Summer is here and the weather is great. You decide to catch up on some work from your laptop in the backyard, but overheating your computer could be a disaster.

Here are a few ways to ensure your laptop stands a chance in the warmer weather:

Avoid Direct Sunlight. It can make it hard to see, but it can also damage computer components.
Keep the Fan Clean. Dust and debris caught in the fan can cause it to malfunction, which can lead to overheating. 
Place It on a Flat Surface. Placing the laptop on a cushion or lap can contribute to improper air flow with the vents. This can lead to overheating. 
Shut it Down Well. If the device hasn't finished powering down before you close it, it might not have cooled down properly. This can lead to, you guessed it, overheating. 

“I don't live to work; I work to live.”
                -  Noel Gallagher

International Left Handers Day is August 13th. Lefties make up 10-13% of the worldwide population. 

The day was first observed in 1976 by Dean R. Campbell, founder of Lefthanders International, Inc. International Lefthanders Day was created to celebrate sinistrality and raise awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of being left-handed in a predominantly right-handed world.