The Water Canada Awards celebrate people, projects, and teams dedicated to protecting and treating Canada’s most precious resource—water. In 2025, the categories have been refreshed and continue to honour those who demonstrate a strong commitment to improving the quality of the Canadian water sector.
Awards are presented in the following categories:
PEOPLE
Emerging Leader
This award celebrates a rising star in the Canadian water sector, recognizing an individual no older than 35 who demonstrates passion, potential, and a commitment to excellence. The Emerging Leader Award honours a professional who, through innovation, dedication, and an eagerness to learn, has already made a significant impact in their early career. By inspiring others and contributing to the advancement of water sustainability and resilience in Canada, this leader exemplifies the future of the industry and the value of cultivating new talent and leadership.
Water Steward
This award honours an individual who has shown exceptional commitment to preserving the health and integrity of Canada’s water resources. Understanding water’s essential role in ecological, social, and economic well-being, the recipient has demonstrated leadership and advocacy in protecting, restoring, and sustainably managing water resources. Through grassroots activism, policy work, or community engagement, they have made a lasting impact by safeguarding water quality, promoting equitable access, and building resilience against emerging challenges.
Career Champion
This award honours an individual who has made a significant, enduring impact on Canada’s water sector over the course of their career. Recognizing the dedication required to drive positive change, the recipient of this award has shown an unwavering commitment to advancing the water industry. Whether through leadership in major projects, pioneering research and education, mentorship, or influential contributions to policy development, this individual has profoundly shaped the sector for future generations.
*** To be eligible for the Career Champion Award, a nominee must be 55 years of age, or older.
PROJECTS
Early Adopter/ Innovation Partnership Award
This award recognizes a forward-thinking partnership between a municipality, corporation, or institution and a technology provider, highlighting their joint commitment to advancing Canada’s water industry.
By successfully integrating new technology into operations, the recipient demonstrates the potential for broader adoption and industry-wide impact. Celebrating the collaborative efforts that drive innovation, this award honours both the early adopter and the technology provider, showcasing their shared vision for a more sustainable, efficient, and resilient water sector in Canada.
New Tech Award
This award celebrates a technology provider whose groundbreaking product represents the cutting edge of innovation in the Canadian water sector.
Embracing creativity and problem-solving, the recipient has developed a pioneering solution that leverages advanced technology to address critical challenges or gaps in water management. Whether in the testing phase or already making waves in the market, their product holds the potential to revolutionize how we monitor, treat, or manage water resources. By pushing the boundaries of technological advancement, they are shaping the future of water resilience and sustainability in Canada and beyond.
Drinking Water: Large Project Award
This award honours a large-scale drinking water project serving more than 5,000 residents that sets a new standard for innovation and excellence in the Canadian water sector.
The recipient of this award has demonstrated exceptional creativity and resourcefulness, using cutting-edge technologies or pioneering approaches to establish, enhance, rehabilitate, or rejuvenate drinking water infrastructure. This project has led to significant advancements in water quality, accessibility, and sustainability, with measurable outcomes such as saving or recycling over 1 million liters of water per day, reducing key contaminants or chemical use, impacting over 50 kilometers of infrastructure, and achieving notable reductions in energy consumption and operational time
Drinking Water: Small Project Award
This award recognizes a small-scale drinking water project serving fewer than 5,000 residents that exemplifies innovation and resourcefulness within the Canadian water sector.
The recipient has successfully implemented new technologies or approaches to enhance or rejuvenate drinking water infrastructure, with a focus on sustainability and resilience. The project has delivered meaningful results, such as saving or recycling up to 1 million liters of water per day, reducing key contaminants or chemical use, addressing up to 50 kilometers of infrastructure, and achieving modest reductions in energy usage and operational time. This award celebrates the impact that even smaller projects can have in advancing water quality and sustainability.
Wastewater: Large Project Award
This award celebrates a large-scale wastewater project serving over 5,000 residents that exemplifies leadership and innovation within the Canadian water sector.
The recipient of this award has demonstrated outstanding effectiveness in deploying advanced technologies or innovative methods to construct, upgrade, or rehabilitate wastewater infrastructure, contributing to substantial environmental and public health improvements. For example, this large-scale project has achieved measurable outcomes, such as reusing or recycling wastewater, reducing combined sewage overflow (CSO) events, decreasing energy consumption, and providing annual economic savings. This award recognizes the project’s pivotal role in advancing sustainable and resilient wastewater solutions.
Wastewater: Small Project Award
This award honours a small-scale wastewater project serving fewer than 5,000 residents that stands out for its ingenuity and commitment to sustainability within the Canadian water industry.
The recipient has effectively implemented new technologies or methodologies to enhance or refurbish wastewater infrastructure, leading to notable environmental and community benefits. This small-scale project has achieved impactful results, such as a reuse or recycling rate of up to 50 per cent, a reduction in CSO events, energy savings, and economic savings. This award highlights the meaningful impact that smaller projects can have in advancing sustainable wastewater management and community health.
Stormwater: Large Project Award
This award celebrates a large-scale stormwater project impacting over 1,000 hectares that exemplifies excellence and innovation in Canadian stormwater management.
The recipient of this award has demonstrated visionary leadership in implementing advanced technologies or creative approaches to develop, enhance, or restore stormwater infrastructure. Through these efforts, the project has achieved substantial outcomes, such as reducing flooding events and cutting pollutant loads, significantly enhancing community resilience, environmental sustainability, and water quality. This award highlights the role of large-scale projects in setting new standards for stormwater management nationwide.
Stormwater: Small Project Award
This award recognizes a small-scale stormwater project that serves up to 1,000 hectares and stands out for its resourcefulness and impact on Canada’s water sector.
The recipient has shown remarkable innovation and commitment to mitigating flood risks and improving water quality through novel technologies or strategic infrastructure upgrades. This small-scale project has made a meaningful difference by reducing flooding events and decreasing pollutant loads. This award underscores the importance of localized stormwater initiatives in enhancing environmental sustainability and community resilience across Canada.
Conservation: Large Project Award
This award recognizes a large-scale conservation project that manages or improves over two hectares (approximately 5 acres) of watershed and exemplifies exceptional stewardship and environmental responsibility in the Canadian water sector.
The recipient of this award has demonstrated innovative leadership in deploying new technologies or strategies to conserve, restore, and manage natural ecosystems. Through significant efforts, the project has contributed to improving biodiversity—such as the re-establishment of native species—and restoring over five kilometers of shoreline. This award highlights the large-scale impact these initiatives have on preserving ecological integrity and inspiring broader conservation efforts across Canada.
Conservation: Small Project Award
This award honours a small-scale conservation project that manages or improves up to two hectares (approximately five acres) of watershed, showcasing outstanding environmental stewardship in Canada’s water sector.
The recipient has demonstrated creativity and leadership in applying innovative approaches to conserve and rehabilitate impacted areas. The project has made a measurable impact on biodiversity, such as the re-establishment of native species, and has successfully restored or conserved up to five kilometers of shoreline. This award celebrates the powerful role of smaller-scale projects in enhancing ecosystem health and fostering sustainable water resource management.
Education Award
This award recognizes an outstanding education project that has significantly advanced knowledge dissemination and community empowerment within Canada’s water sector.
Acknowledging the vital role of education in raising awareness and fostering engagement with water-related issues, the recipient has demonstrated creativity and commitment in delivering innovative information and insights to enhance public understanding and support for water initiatives. Through impactful outreach efforts, the project has contributed to informed decision-making, increased community involvement, and promoted the goals of water sustainability and resilience. Notable achievements include a reduction in water consumption and a significant number of individuals engaged through outreach events.
Policy Award
This award recognizes a project that has made a significant impact on Canada’s water management policies and regulations.
The recipient has demonstrated exceptional leadership in driving meaningful changes related to stormwater, wastewater, or drinking water, leading to improvements in water quality, accessibility, and resilience. Key achievements include a high compliance rate with new regulations, broad stakeholder engagement, securing funding for new policies, and increasing the availability of publicly shared water quality data. The project has also fostered partnerships for data sharing among government agencies, researchers, and the public.
Questions about the categories or criteria?
Please contact Corinne Lynds at [email protected]
