In the article below, we’ve covered the main water management trends in Canada, the top companies for water savings and management, the best practices in water solutions, and the role water management plays in corporate ESG goals.
Industries that invest in modern technologies, proactive planning, and sustainable water strategies will be better positioned to navigate future challenges while maintaining operational excellence. The fact is, water will continue to play a central role in industrial productivity, but the organizations that succeed will be those that view water not simply as a resource to consume, but as an asset to manage intelligently.
According to Statistics Canada, in 2021, total water use in Canada reached 36.1 billion cubic metres. A number that has probably proportionally increased in recent years, as the population went from 36.991.891 in 2021 and is now over 41 million.
The greater the need for water, the greater the need for better planning and organization of this vital resource to ensure savings, quality, and reduced waste during processes.
For industries, the focus is on solutions through deep analysis, regardless of the niche and magnitude. What are the company’s goals? What are the daily water usage and needs? What are the local regulations? The idea is to better manage the business based on its reality and to plan solutions to reach its goals, which can be water quality, operational efficiency, environmental responsibility, sustainability, and regulatory compliance.
After checking the related companies below, we explain how to take the best from water management, explaining the services and solutions from the digital side (smart sensors, real-time monitoring), to sustainable ones.
The Best Water Solutions Companies in Canada
Artelia
Features
Consolidated, with more than 100 years of history, and 10,000 employees distributed in 40 countries, the Groupe Artelia focus on bringing a plenty of solutions on the urban infrastructure side (airports, bridges), renewable energy, industry, and on water. Our focus here.
For water, and wastewater solutions, their team of specialists applies their expertise in physico-chemical and biological treatment to develop tailor-made solutions that guarantee regulatory compliance and operational efficiency. Depending on project requirements, they can also support industrial and mining site managers in water management by assisting in drawing up water balances, as well as in the design and supervision of ditches and basins, based on hydrological, hydraulic or hydrogeological modelling.
According to Artelia, this complete, and multidisciplinary assistance can cover the need to prepare and submit applications for government authorization certificates to the various levels of government, and to ensure rigorous environmental monitoring. According to Artelia, the company’s mission is to ensure a reliable supply of drinking water and efficient wastewater management while adapting solutions to their clients necessities.
Customer Information
Phone Number: (514) 982-6001
E-mail Address: Contact Form
Canada Wide
View DetailsAWC Water
Features
With more than 40 years on the market, AWC have designed, manufactured and delivered over 500 water and wastewater treatment plants across North America with their certified professionals.
Filtration, clarification, membrane, and biological are some of the water treatment options offered to deliver high quality results for different industrial needs. Another service we highlight is the Engineering & Design, where their specialists provide numerous treatment system options and fully understand capital costs, operating costs, constructability and water treatment parameters.
Water management is how to take the best from the vital source, and for the company, the goal is to implement effective solutions by taking a “technology-agnostic” approach that includes in-house process, mechanical & piping, electrical, structural, drafting and instrumentation & control departments.
Customer Information
Phone Number: (604) 936-4217
E-mail Adress: info@awcsolutions.com
Canada Wide
View DetailsAquatics Informatics
Features
Wastewater, drinking water, stormwater, source water, and software to better manage the clients needs according to each case, reaching businesses from hydropower to government (more than 1,500 customers in 60 countries).
According to Aquatic Informatics™, the company is a mission-driven software business that organizes the world’s water data to make it accessible and useful, bringing water analysis, and solutions for wastewater, drinking water, stormwater, and source water for clients such as mining, utilities, hydropower, and industry in general. The focus is to help customers drive the efficient management of water information across the entire water cycle to protect human health and reduce environmental impact.
As we said during our article, Aquatic Informatics also think that businesses that improve information availability, accuracy by digitizing plant operations connecting data sources, consequentially reduce errors, and future maintenances.
On the drinking water side, for example, Aquatic Informatics says that efficiently manages the intricacies and details of all system assets, events, monitoring locations for real-time visibility to effectively inform operations and field technicians. Therefore, in summary, the company is a “urban water resource data management platform” capable to produce accuracy data.
Customer Information
Phone Number: 1.877.546.5699 | +1.604.873.2782
E-mail address: info@aquaticinformatics.com
Canada Wide
View DetailsWWC Water
Features
With over 30 years of experience, WMC Water has built strong partnerships across Ontario and Quebec, specializing in industrial, residential, commercial, and institutional water treatment for diverse sectors, including food and beverage, manufacturing, hotels, data centers, healthcare, pharmaceutical, HVAC, education, and government facilities.
Boiler water treatment, wastewater treatment, colling water treatment, water safety plan, are some of their offered services, besides technical guidance, and turn-key support for commercial, industrial, and institutional water treatment systems across both provinces Ontario and Quebec.
According to WMC, their engineering water solutions team is ready to support business every step of the way, from concept to equipment supply, installation, commissioning, service, maintenance and continuous improvement. Facilities benefit from:
- Reduced water consumption through optimized operation;
- Lower energy use from improved heat transfer efficiency;
- Controlled chemical usage through precise program management.
Customer Information
Phone Number: 416 321-0101
E-mail Address: wmc@wmcwater.com
Ontario and Quebec Wide
View DetailsWatts Canada
Features
Watts Water Technologies offers solutions for drainage, HVAC, plumbing, rainwater harvesting, and its primary focus has been on advanced monitoring technology within its Nexa Intelligent Water Management Platform, an integrated ecosystem of sensing technologies.
Nexa was engineered for large commercial and industrial buildings to maximize water system efficiency and prevent costly damage. The Nexa’s best sensor is the leak detection sensor, which targets real-time visibility and focuses on water safety and efficiency. The platform also consists of flow sensors and meters (to monitor consumption patterns and identify anomalies), and point-of-use leak detectors (sensors like the SentryPlus and Alert Discharge Sensor are used with pressure relief valves).
Just like any other advanced water leak detecting platform, Nexa Intelligent Water Management integrates those sensors with software that offers alerts when a leak is detected and controlled, such as automatic shut-off.
Customer Infomation
Phone Number: 905-332-4090
Canada Wide
View DetailsActive Business
Features
For water solutions, Active Business offers a patented valve – the ABS Meter Efficiency Valve (MEV), a product designed to reduce water bills (from 5 to 15%) by compressing air pockets in water lines, ensuring the customer only pays for the used water.
Its goal is not to restrict consumption, but to optimize the meter’s operating environment by conditioning and stabilizing flow before it reaches the meter, reducing turbulence and maintaining a consistent pressure, which helps the meter read water more accurately.
Although it’s not needed to interact with the MEV, behind the scenes they quietly solve one of the most concerns when we talk about water management: inaccurate meter readings caused by unstable flow conditions, as air pockets, pressure fluctuations, and turbulent flow can trick a meter into “thinking” more water has passed through than actually has, bringing up inconsistent billing and, consequentially, higher costs.
In summary, MEVs create the ideal environment for the meter to do its job of reading the real consumption data, useful for organizations where trustworthy measurement is vital, such as municipal and regional water utilities, large commercial facilities (malls, hospitals, universities), industrial operations (food processing, manufacturing), condos, hotels, and agriculture (especially farms). All companies that aim to prevent excessive water costs and charges could benefit from such a tool.
Customer Information
Phone Number: 1-866-563-0771
E-mail Address: commercial@ActiveBusinessServices.com
Canada Wide
View DetailsWater Management Trends for Industry
The Digital Era on the Water Management Side
On the industrial side, digital transformation brings technologies that improve automation, customer service, marketing strategies, and more. Many technologies provide unprecedented visibility into water consumption patterns, treatment performance, and system efficiency, such as:
- Smart sensors: The Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled devices collect data from water infrastructure, including pipelines, reservoirs, treatment facilities, and distribution networks. Unlike conventional monitoring equipment, smart sensors provide continuous measurements of critical parameters such as water pressure, flow rate, temperature, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and chemical composition. This constant flow of information allows operators to detect abnormalities immediately rather than relying on periodic manual inspections.
- Real-time monitoring systems: They integrate data from multiple sensors into centralized platforms, providing operators with a comprehensive view of the entire water network, whether the problem involves pipeline leakage, equipment malfunction, abnormal water consumption, or changes in water quality. Independent of the issue, operators receive immediate alerts that enable rapid intervention.
Real-time monitoring also supports better resource allocation during emergencies and unexpected infrastructure failures, when decision-makers need to keep processes the most is possible, and can prioritize water distribution based on current demand and available supply.
- Cloud-based Analytics Platforms: The massive volume of information generated by modern water systems requires advanced tools capable of storing, processing, and interpreting complex datasets. Therefore, cloud-based analytics platforms come to help with that, providing scalable and secure environments where operational data can be centralized and transformed into actionable insights.
Unlike traditional data storage systems, cloud platforms enable remote access to information from virtually any location, facilitating collaboration among engineers, utility managers, field technicians, and decision-makers. Historical and real-time data can be integrated to identify trends, evaluate system performance, and support long-term planning.
- Proactive Maintenance Solutions: Predictive maintenance introduces a more proactive approach by using data analytics, machine learning, and sensor information to forecast when infrastructure components are likely to require maintenance. An approach that, as we said before, significantly reduces downtime, extends equipment lifespan, lowers maintenance costs, and minimizes the risk of big failures.
Water Reuse: A Sustainable and Budget-Friendly Solution
Wastewater is everywhere, since after being used, water is no longer clean and safe to be reused. For industrial operations or any type of business, whether during production processes or irrigation, the same happens. Water gets chemicals and all sorts of contaminants, and needs to be treated before being reused or disposed of for everyone’s safety.
According to the Canadian Infrastructure Council, as of 2025, the wastewater growth in Canada is influenced by factors such as urbanization and population growth, increasing water scarcity. Therefore, to help the environment by bringing sustainable solutions, one of the most significant developments in industrial water management is the movement toward water circularity.
Instead of using water once and discharging it as wastewater, many facilities are implementing systems that capture, treat, and reuse water within their operations. This approach, although having a price initially, turns out to be an affordable solution in the long term, besides reducing freshwater demand while minimizing discharge volumes.
The most popular advanced technologies would be:
- Filtration technologies – The primary purpose is to remove suspended particles, fine solids, microorganisms, and other impurities that remain after preliminary and primary treatment stages, consequently improving water clarity, reducing contaminant concentrations, and preparing wastewater for either safe discharge into the environment or additional advanced treatment processes.
By reducing suspended solids before disinfection or membrane treatment, filtration minimizes equipment fouling, lowers chemical consumption, and enhances overall plant performance, being, therefore, an indispensable step in wastewater treatment.
- Membrane systems – This option uses semi-permeable membranes that selectively separate contaminants from water based on particle size, molecular weight, or electrical charge, producing exceptionally high-quality treated water. Depending on the membrane pore size and separation mechanism, several technologies are available, including microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO). Technologies designed to target specific contaminants are selected according to the desired water quality and intended application.
- Biological treatment – This modern treatment is one of the most environmentally sustainable and cost-effective approaches to wastewater purification and efficiently removes biodegradable organic matter and nutrients using microorganisms, being generally classified as aerobic or anaerobic. Aerobic processes require oxygen and are among the most widely implemented technologies in municipal wastewater treatment.
Anaerobic treatment, by contrast, operates in the absence of oxygen and is particularly suitable for high-strength industrial wastewater rich in organic material. During anaerobic digestion, microorganisms convert organic pollutants into biogas, which can be captured and used as a renewable energy source.
As you can see, these processes allow companies to recover water that would previously have been considered waste. A smart and effective solution specially in sectors such as food processing, manufacturing, mining, and energy production
In this article, it is possible to check out provincial and local standards criteria that must be followed by companies regardless of their size or niche. As water is a vital source, its quality requirements continue to become more rigorous.
Sustainability and ESG Reporting
Here, we can better explain how Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives are influencing industrial sustainable strategies across Canada. Talking about water, effective ESG reporting depends on accurate, measurable, and transparent data, and businesses are expected to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect how water is used throughout their operations and supply chains.
Common water-related ESG metrics include:
- Total water withdrawal and consumption;
- Water intensity per unit of production;
- Percentage of water recycled or reused;
- Wastewater treatment efficiency;
- Compliance with discharge regulations;
- Reduction in water losses and leakage;
- Water-related operational risks;
- Investments in water conservation initiatives.
The quality of ESG reporting depends on the accuracy and availability of operational data, reasons why technologies have become indispensable for collecting, verifying, and analyzing water-related information across complex business operations. A mix of what we presented above, such as smart sensors to monitor water consumption, flow rates, pressure, and quality throughout industrial facilities and distribution systems; real-time monitoring platforms to provide immediate visibility into system performance; and cloud-based data platforms, makes it easier to generate ESG reports while ensuring consistency.
Digitalization comes in again to transform ESG reporting from a periodic compliance exercise into a continuous management process that supports better operational and strategic decision-making.
Transparent sustainability reporting enables organizations to identify operational inefficiencies, improve resource management, strengthen investor confidence, and consequently build stronger customer loyalty.
Sustainability is no longer measured solely by environmental intentions but by measurable actions, reliable data, and continuous improvement. How does your company want to be viewed across Canada?
Reviewing commercial water treatment options and costs
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