LOCAL BASIN RESIDENT WINS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD
By Contributor
On June 22nd, over 160 water professionals came together to celebrate innovators and influencers in the water sector at the Water’s Next Awards Gala — part of the 8th annual Canadian Water Summit in Toronto.
Water Canada editor, Katherine Balpataky said that ”This year, we received nearly 60 submissions, and with the Selection Committee’s help they were whittled down to three or four finalists in each award category,”.
Kat Hartwig, from Brisco near Radium Hot Springs in the East Kootenay, won the Water Steward of the Year award for the work that Living Lakes Canada team has done over the years, as well as the People- NGO category for her work on conducting a national scan in partnership with SFU and U of Acadia, to assess the state of community-based water monitoring across Canada.
Hartwig remarked, “I was truly grateful to accept this National award on behalf of all water stewardship groups, and closer to home, it is way to acknowledge the dedication, devotion amazing water stewardship groups and individuals of Columbia Basin have and the hard work that they continue to do.
Hartwig pointed out that “the era of climate imposed decisions regarding source water protection and water allocation for humans and the ecosystems upon which we depend, has arrived. Twenty-first century challenges will require forging innovative, collaborative partnerships to collectively ensure economically and ecologically viable, climate resilient communities in Canada.” concluded Hartwig, as the Water’s Next winners were announced.
Background;
Water Canada magazine’s Water’s Next Award program is the only national awards program to honour leadership across the entire water sector—including public servants, non-governmental groups, researchers, municipalities, and technology providers., Water Canada has hosted the awards to help strengthen and celebrate the thriving national community by showcasing Canada’s water leaders, champions, and innovators since 2010 .
“The awards themselves have two divisions. One is for the awards given to individuals—let’s call them “people,” yeah, the People division. And the other division we refer to as the Projects or Technology Division.”
