News

A Message from OCWA's CEO: COVID-19

March 20, 2020

As a valued partner, we’d like to provide an update on the measures OCWA is taking as the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve rapidly across the province. OCWA has been monitoring COVID-19 since it was first identified late in 2019. On March 11, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 situation a global pandemic. At that time, OCWA activated our Emergency Action Group made up of our Executive Management Team, as well as department leads from Corporate Communications, Compliance and Health & Safety.

This Group has been meeting regularly with all our Regional Managers to ensure appropriate plans are in place to help minimize the disruption to our work and to continue to provide water and wastewater services to the people of Ontario. OCWA is working closely with the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks and the Ministry of Health, who continue to lead this work on behalf of the province.

OCWA is doing everything that it can to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the continued operation of your water and wastewater facilities. We have a number of plans in place to deal with pandemic situations, including the Agency’s Continuity of Operations Plan and other facility and corporate Emergency Response plans. These plans include the Critical Shortage of Staff Contingency Plan, which includes the review of critical operational needs and immediate and short-term staffing requirements.

We are committed to ensuring the safety of our staff while maintaining services to our clients. OCWA is following all provincial directions on self-isolation and working remotely where operationally feasible. We have also suspended non-essential travel, the attendance of our staff at conferences and events and any internal events and meetings (we are holding meetings by teleconference wherever possible).

We are tracking any instance of COVID-19 across the Agency and at this point we have not seen any cases. We’ve asked all management to keep us updated should anything change or if they require additional support at specific facilities. 

We recognize that the situation is evolving on a daily basis and as a result, we do not have all the answers for what will happen. We do commit, however, to continuing to keep you updated and will contact you immediately should the situation change with respect to your facilities.  

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us should you have any additional questions or specific concerns about your facility. We appreciate your support and thank you for placing your continued trust in OCWA throughout these difficult times.

Sincerely,
                                                    

Nevin McKeown
President & CEO, OCWA