Advancing Water Innovation: Dalhousie Research at ACWWA 2026

Innovation in water and wastewater treatment continues to shape how laboratories and utilities monitor water quality, optimize treatment processes, and respond to emerging challenges.

At the 2026 Atlantic Canada Water & Wastewater Association (ACWWA) Annual Conference, two Dalhousie University students presented research posters exploring new approaches to water quality analysis and laboratory automation using MANTECH systems.

Held on October 4-6 in Moncton, New Brunswick, the conference brought together water and wastewater professionals under the theme Flowing forward – From Scarcity to Sustainability, which highlights the importance of innovative and sustainable water management solutions.

Advancing Jar Testing through Automation

Traditional jar testing is an important tool for optimizing water treatment processes, helping operators evaluate chemical dosages, mixing conditions, and treatment performance. However conventional methods are time consuming and require a lot of manual work.

Riley Gray presented research titled Revolutionizing Jar Testing – An Automated, High-throughput Approach, looking at how automation can improve the efficiency and flexibility of conventional jar testing.

Developed through collaboration between Dalhousie University and MANTECH, the automated jar testing system incorporates several capabilities:

The research demonstrated a reduction of up to 93% in operator time per jar, with the automated titration approach needing about 2.1 minutes of operator time compared with 30.4 minutes for standard manual testing.

The findings highlight the potential for automation to reduce repetitive laboratory tasks, increase experimental capacity, and support more responsive water treatment operations. As water quality conditions are constantly fluctuating, innovative testing approaches may help facilities evaluate treatment options more efficiently.

Exploring PeCOD for BOD Monitoring

Alongside the jar testing research, Joseph Odume presented Assessment of Photoelectrochemical Oxygen Demand (PeCOD) as a Novel Monitoring Tool for BOD in Municipal Wastewater. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is an important parameter in wastewater monitoring, measuring the oxygen consumed by microorganisms as they break down organic material. However conventional BOD testing needs a five-day incubation period, delaying the availability of results.

Joseph’s research investigated the potential of MANTECH’s PeCOD technology to provide faster insights into BOD levels by examining how different oxidation conditions influence the relationship between PeCOD and BOD measurements.

Recognizing Research Excellence

Beyond presenting his research, Joseph Odume received the ACWWA Fresh Ideas Poster Award, recognizing his work and contribution to innovation in the water and wastewater sector.

Congratulations to Joseph on this achievement, and to Riley and the Dalhousie research team for their contributions to the conference.

Supporting the Future of Water Quality Analysis

Research and collaboration play an important role in advancing technologies that address evolving water quality challenges.

From looking into faster approaches to organic matter monitoring to developing automated laboratory workflows, these projects demonstrate the potential of combining academic research with practical analytical technology.

MANTECH is proud to see its technologies contributing to research that opens new opportunities for efficiency, innovation, and environmental protection.

We congratulate the researchers at Dalhousie University on their work and look forward to seeing how these initiatives continue to develop.