Public involvement helps us engage our community in meaningful conversations as we learn to better serve our customers and support Kingston’s goal of becoming A Smart and Livable 21st Century City.

Click to enlarge

Community Involvement

Highlights

• Proudly participated in the 2017 Greater Kingston Santa Parade, made possible by the dedication of many talented employees. Our Elf’s Village float received recognition as Best Commercial - thank you! 
• Supported our community partners through participation at their events, including the City Of Kingston's Public Works Day, Kingston Blooms, and many more.
• Proud supporter of Sustainable Kingston, helping to make Kingston Canada’s Most Sustainable City.
• Support for Queen’s University, Royal Military College of Canada (RMC)  and St. Lawrence College through research collaboration and class presentations.
• Employees raised $30,268 for United Way, achieving the Bronze Participation Award, Cornerstone Achievement Award, and Sapphire Britton Smith Foundation Leadership Award. 

Conservation Award for Sewer Overflow Information

The Cataraqui Conservation Foundation 2017 Corporate Conservation Award was awarded to Utilities Kingston for providing sewer overflow information on a real-time map to help residents make a better-informed decision about recreational water use.

Boards and Memberships

We’re part of the fabric of our community and proud to serve on these boards and memberships: 

• SWITCH – Board of Directors
• GridSmartCity 
• Sensus Partner and Advisor Network – Canadian Subcommittee Chair
• Plug’n Drive – Board of Directors and Advisory Board
• Ontario Regional Common Ground Alliance (ORCGA) – Kingston Region  Geographic Council - Co-Chair
• Ontario Regional Common Ground Alliance (ORCGA) – Gas/Oil Distribution Stakeholder Group - Board Member
• Electricity Distributors Association – Upper Canada Metering Subcommittee Organizing Committee
• Electric Vehicle Power Providers Working Group (Ministry of Energy) – Member
• Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR‎) - Municipal Advisory Committee
• Ontario Energy Association Environmental Committee (formerly the Cap and Trade Working Group) – Member
• Canadian Standards Association (CSA)  Participated in the development of CSA Z800 Guideline on Basement Flood Protection – Member
• Ontario Municipal Water Association (OMWA) - Board of Directors
• Canadian Gas Association (CGA) - Health and Safety Committee - Member
• Canadian Gas Association (CGA) - Asset Integrity Management Task Force - Member
• Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA)  Kingston Labour-Management Health & Safety
  committees – Construction - Member
• Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) Achievable Potential Study Group – Board Member

Sponsorship 

Through local sponsorship, we give back to the community we serve:

• In 2017, Alexandre Gagne, an energy systems engineering technology student at St. Lawrence College, received the Kingston Hydro Award for Sustainable Energy Leadership.
• Sponsorship of the annual Kingston Blooms Utilities Kingston Water Smart Gardening Award. In 2017, Fred Jones won a hand-painted rain barrel for his beautiful, water-smart garden.
• Queen's CIRQUE 2017
• Sustainable Kingston’s first annual Evening of Recognition
• Queen’s Global Energy Conference
• SWITCH Managing Energy
• Queen’s Water Environment Conference
• Science Rendezvous 
• Electricity Distributors Association (EDA) Metering Technologies Conference 

Innovation through Research Partnerships

Continued improvement and innovation are our focus in these recent research partnerships. Thanks to our partners for these opportunities!

• Evanco Environmental to advance the use of an innovative approach to water main cleaning and relining that prevents corrosion and material build-up to improve reliability.
• Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) and University of Western Ontario on their project “Lot-Side/Backwater Valve Research Project”, studying the reliability and maintenance of plumbing components.
• Queen's University on their Natural Sciences and Research Council (NSERC) funded project “Bio-oil Recovery & CO2 Recycling by Waste Stream Enhanced Microalgal Growth & Low Energy CO2-Related Extraction” to use municipal wastewater and waste industrial heat to grow algae and produce a low carbon, greenhouse gas free fuel.
• Queen’s University on their Natural Sciences and Engineering Research of Canada (NSERC) strategic project investigating an innovative means for a low energy water purification system.