Canadian Water Network
A Canadian non-profit network that connects water-sector knowledge, expertise, and decision-makers to address complex water challenges.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Canadian Water Network (CWN) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization focused on improving how Canada understands and responds to water-related risks and opportunities. It operates as a convening and knowledge-translation hub rather than as a conventional consumer brand or water utility. Its work connects government decision-makers, municipal water managers, public-health practitioners, researchers, Indigenous and community organizations, non-profits, and representatives of water-dependent economic sectors. The network’s central purpose is to help people responsible for water decisions find, interpret, and apply relevant knowledge in practical settings. CWN was established in 2001 as a Network of Centres of Excellence following the Walkerton drinking-water crisis. The crisis highlighted the consequences of fragmented responsibilities, weak communication, and gaps between scientific research and operational decision-making. From 2001 through 2015, the organization received Canadian government support to help decision-makers manage risks involving the safety, security, and long-term abundance of the country’s water resources. In 2015, it moved to a self-sustaining organizational model, while retaining a governance structure that represents public-sector, municipal, non-profit, and industry perspectives. The organization’s activities are organized around interconnected program areas covering water and communities, water and health, and water and climate. These areas address issues such as climate resilience, greenhouse-gas reduction, safe drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services, and protection of human health from water-related risks. CWN’s approach emphasizes collaboration and practical application: it brings participants together to compare experience, identify emerging issues, assess evidence, and develop approaches that can be used by organizations with responsibility for water systems and public outcomes. A major institutional initiative is the Canadian Municipal Water Consortium, established by CWN in 2009. The consortium provides a national forum for senior leaders from municipal water departments and utilities to exchange knowledge, examine strategic challenges, and advance sustainable, equitable, and resilient urban water management. According to the organization’s public description, the consortium supports leaders from 25 municipal water departments and utilities that collectively serve more than 25 million people in Canada. CWN has also contributed to national policy and evidence discussions. In 2017, it led a National Expert Panel examining Canada’s challenges and opportunities in addressing contaminants in wastewater. The panel’s findings were published in 2018. Separately, from 2004 to 2024, the organization offered a leadership-development program for students and young professionals in the water field, extending its role beyond institutional collaboration into professional capacity building. The organization is headquartered on the University of Waterloo campus in Waterloo, Ontario, and is a member of the Global Water Research Coalition, an international alliance focused on water research. Leadership passed from chief executive officer Bernadette Conant to Nicola Crawhall in 2022. CWN’s positioning is therefore best understood as evidence-informed, cross-sector water governance and collaboration, with a distinctly Canadian mandate and a focus on translating expertise into decisions that improve resilience, health, and water-system performance.
History
Canadian Water Network emerged in 2001 in response to the Walkerton drinking-water crisis, a defining event in Canadian water governance. Its original role was to function as a Network of Centres of Excellence, bringing together research capacity and the people responsible for managing water risks. The organization was designed around the premise that scientific information has limited public value if it is not accessible, interpretable, and applicable to decisions made by governments, utilities, health authorities, communities, and other water-dependent organizations. Between 2001 and 2015, CWN received Canadian government funding to help decision-makers address risks affecting the safety, security, and abundance of Canada’s water resources. During this period, it developed a network-based model involving researchers and practitioners from multiple sectors. Rather than concentrating exclusively on a single technical discipline, the organization addressed water as a system involving public health, infrastructure, environmental protection, climate pressures, governance, and economic activity. In 2009, CWN created the Canadian Municipal Water Consortium. The consortium provided a more focused institutional setting for leaders of municipal water departments and utilities. Its objectives included sharing operational knowledge, comparing approaches to urban water management, and examining strategic issues likely to affect municipal services. The consortium’s stated membership base has included leaders from 25 municipal water departments and utilities collectively serving more than 25 million people across Canada. Its agenda reflects the practical pressures facing cities, including affordability, resilience, equitable service, infrastructure management, and the provision of drinking-water, wastewater, and stormwater services. CWN transitioned to a self-sustaining organization in 2015, marking a significant change from its earlier government-supported model. It continued to be governed by a board representing government, municipal utilities, non-profit organizations, and industry. This structure supports the organization’s non-partisan identity and allows it to bring together groups that may have different responsibilities, incentives, or perspectives concerning water policy and management. The organization’s later work has been presented through three connected areas: water and communities, water and health, and water and climate. The water-and-communities work addresses the needs of communities and water-reliant economic sectors, with attention to climate resilience and greenhouse-gas reduction. The water-and-health area focuses on reducing water-related threats to human health and promoting preventive responses. The water-and-climate area supports more informed decisions concerning drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services in a changing climate. One notable national project began in 2017, when CWN led an expert panel on contaminants in wastewater. The panel considered Canada’s challenges and opportunities in dealing with wastewater contaminants, and its findings were released in 2018. This initiative illustrates CWN’s role in convening expertise and translating a technically complex issue into a national discussion relevant to policy and practice. CWN also maintained a leadership-development program for students and young professionals in the water sector from 2004 to 2024. The program extended the organization’s mission into talent development and helped connect emerging professionals with the wider water community. In 2022, chief executive leadership passed from Bernadette Conant to Nicola Crawhall. The organization is headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, on the University of Waterloo campus, and participates internationally through membership in the Global Water Research Coalition. Its continuing identity is that of a Canadian collaboration and knowledge network supporting better water decisions, rather than a commercial supplier of water products.
- 2024
Leadership-development program period ends
[1]CWN’s program for students and young professionals in water operated from 2004 through 2024.
- 2022
Chief executive succession
[1]Nicola Crawhall succeeded Bernadette Conant as chief executive officer.
- 2018
Wastewater panel findings published
[1]The national expert panel’s findings were released for use in discussions about wastewater contaminants and management.
- 2017
National Expert Panel on wastewater contaminants
[1]CWN led a national expert panel addressing Canada’s challenges and opportunities concerning contaminants in wastewater.
- 2015
Transition to a self-sustaining organization
[1]CWN moved from its earlier Canadian government-funded model to self-sustaining operations.
- 2009
Canadian Municipal Water Consortium established
[1]The consortium was created to connect municipal water leaders and advance sustainable, equitable, and resilient urban water management.
- 2001
Canadian Water Network founded
[1]CWN was established as a Network of Centres of Excellence following the Walkerton drinking-water crisis.
Products and positioning
A non-partisan Canadian platform for cross-sector collaboration, evidence translation, and leadership development in water management, public health, climate resilience, and municipal water services.
Municipal water leadership network · 2009
Canadian Municipal Water Consortium
A national network for senior leaders from municipal water departments and utilities. It provides a forum for sharing operational knowledge, examining emerging strategic issues, and developing approaches to sustainable, equitable, and resilient urban water management. The consortium is intended for decision-makers responsible for public water services rather than for consumers, and its work spans drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, infrastructure, governance, and long-term system resilience.
Program area
Water and Communities
A CWN program area focused on helping communities and water-dependent economic sectors respond to environmental and climate pressures. Its stated objectives include increasing climate resilience and minimizing greenhouse-gas emissions through collaboration, shared learning, and practical solutions suited to local and sector-specific circumstances.
Program area
Water and Health
A program area centered on protecting human health from water-related risks and encouraging proactive solutions. It connects water management with public-health practice and supports collaboration among the people and organizations responsible for identifying, preventing, and responding to health consequences associated with water systems.
Program area
Water and Climate
A program area supporting informed decisions about drinking-water, wastewater, and stormwater services under changing climate conditions. It addresses the need for leaders to integrate climate considerations into service planning, risk management, infrastructure decisions, and the long-term resilience of water systems.
Professional development · 2004
Water-sector leadership development program
A leadership-development initiative for students and young professionals in the water field. Operating from 2004 to 2024, it supported the development of emerging water-sector practitioners and connected them with a broader professional and institutional network.
Brand decisions
2022
Changed chief executive leadershipOtherBackground
Bernadette Conant had led the organization before the 2022 succession.
Action taken
Nicola Crawhall assumed the chief executive role from Conant.
Aftermath
CWN continued its programs in water, health, climate, communities, and municipal collaboration under new executive leadership.
2015
Adopted a self-sustaining organizational modelStrategyBackground
CWN had operated with Canadian government support since its establishment as a Network of Centres of Excellence in 2001.
Action taken
The organization transitioned to self-sustaining operations while continuing its cross-sector water collaboration mandate.
Aftermath
CWN continued under a board representing government, municipal utilities, non-profits, and industry.
Recent events
- 2024
Water-sector leadership program concludes after two decades[1]
Other
CWN’s leadership-development program for students and young professionals operated from 2004 through 2024.
- 2022
Leadership passes from Bernadette Conant to Nicola Crawhall[1]
Leadership change
Nicola Crawhall succeeded Bernadette Conant as chief executive officer of Canadian Water Network.
- 2018
Wastewater contaminants panel findings released[1]
Other
The findings of the national panel on wastewater contaminants were published, contributing to broader Canadian discussions about wastewater risks and management.
- 2017
National Expert Panel examines wastewater contaminants[1]
Other
CWN led a national expert panel on Canada’s challenges and opportunities in addressing contaminants in wastewater.
- 2015
Canadian Water Network becomes self-sustaining[1]
Other
After a period of Canadian government funding that began in 2001, CWN transitioned to a self-sustaining organizational model.
- 2009
Canadian Municipal Water Consortium launched[1]
Other
CWN established a national network for municipal water utility leaders to share knowledge and address strategic issues in sustainable and resilient urban water management.
- 2001
Canadian Water Network established as a Network of Centres of Excellence[1]
Other
CWN was created in the aftermath of the Walkerton drinking-water crisis to connect research and decision-making around the safety, security, and abundance of Canadian water resources.
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