Microscopic phytoplankton that form the foundation of the marine food chain are declining, according to a new Canadian study that indicates that the ocean’s ecosystem and fisheries could be changing.

Read entire article on The Globe and Mail.

Alberta researchers say gender-bending fish in the province's rivers are sending a concerning message about whether the water is safe to drink.

Two University of Calgary professors have been monitoring a small species of minnow in the Red Deer and Oldman rivers in the southern part of the province.

They found in some locations, females made up as much as 90 per cent of the population, far higher than the 55 to 60 per cent that is normally found.

At nearly every site studied, male fish also showed elevated levels of a protein that is normally only found in the blood of females.

The researchers found a large variety of chemicals that affect hormones in the water, both man-made and the result of agriculture.

Professor Lee Jackson says their study doesn't show whether the chemical levels are safe for humans to drink, but the findings are a concern and more research is needed.

Curt Kerns, professional biologist in the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists, had his qualifications accepted by the Administrator of Private Sewage Treatment Systems in the Public Safety Division, Safety Services for the purpose of designing private sewage systems in Alberta.

Join a group of sustainability professionals in the mid Vancouver Island area on a lively tour of unconventional sewage treatment technologies. On the tour we plan to see waterless toilets, constructed wetlands, a package treatment plant, and a solar aquatics system. Curt Kerns, designer of the constructed wetlands system, will be onsite for an in depth explanation of his system.

See the invitation here.

Second Patent issued on Vegetative Tertiary Filter

U.S. patent 7695620 was issued on April 13^th, 2010. This is the second patent issued on the highly innovative and effective VTF. Invented by WetlandsPacific Corp. as the only passive wastewater treatment system that can remove contaminants down to non-detectable levels, which has been used to excellent advantage in Canada since 2002. While there have been active systems that would reduce contaminants to similarly low levels, they are typically capital, energy, and maintenance intensive. Whereas the VTF, which is price competitive with a much less effective sand mound, can be gravity fed, and requires minimal maintenance.

Curt Kerns elected to the WCOWMA BC Advisory Committee

WetlandsPacific Corp. moves to new headquarters

On November 4^th, 2009 WetlandsPacific’s president, Curt Kerns formally announced the move to its new offices and yard in the Duke Point Industrial Park, located at 921 Maughan Road, Nanaimo, B.C. The property is zoned for heavy industry. The new area will allow WetlandsPacific Corp. to further develop innovative solutions to onsite wastewater issues.

Patent Issued on WetlandsPacific’s new class of constructed wetland, the Vegetative Tertiary Filter.

U.S. patent 7407577, was issued to Curt Kerns, the president of WetlandsPacific Corp. on August 8^th, 2008. The Canadian patent is pending. The new class of constructed wetland invented by Mr. Kerns is that of a Type 3+ capillary system. The VTF follow advanced secondary treatment in the Nayadic line of aerobic treatment plants. Peat, which can have 33,000 more surface area as coarse sand, provides the surface area for microbial community attachment. It is the microbes that remove contaminants down to non-detectable levels of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD₅). Fecal coliform bacteria are also reduced to non-detectable levels as well.