抖阴APP导航

When Ken Matsuda took his first water treatment job in Asia, he was focused on securing access to clean drinking water for those who need it. Growing up in British Columbia, he saw first-hand the challenges of sourcing clean drinking water in rural and Indigenous communities and wanted to be part of a solution. 

What he learned was that he first had to think about the communities upstream, whose sewage was flowing into the rivers that would eventually reach another community. Treating that polluted water was a massive burden on downstream communities. 

While helping to install small-scale wastewater treatment units in the Philippines, Matsuda had the spark of an idea. The Japanese-made units he was installing, the FujiClean Jokaso, were solving similar problems to what he saw back home. Could they work in Canada too?

Thanks to a partnership between 抖阴APP导航, and Matsuda鈥檚 company and funding from we鈥檙e going to find out. 

Pilot will evaluate small-scale wastewater treatment technology in extreme cold

In August 2025, the FujiClean Jokaso pilot launched at (ACWA), 抖阴APP导航鈥檚 research facility embedded in the City of Calgary鈥檚 The project team is evaluating the Jokaso for use in cold climates, to assess if the technology can be used in rural communities, instead of septic tanks or lagoon systems. 

鈥淲hat makes this unit ideal for rural communities is the compactness of it,鈥� says Matsuda. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like having a municipal wastewater treatment facility packed into one 40-foot shipping container 鈥� it鈥檚 groundbreaking.鈥�

The Jokaso operates with the same biological processes used in municipal wastewater treatment. Wastewater moves through five chambers, where solids are broken down and disposed of, and the water is treated via filtration, clarification, and disinfection. The resulting effluent is clean enough to safely re-enter water sources.

鈥淚f the pilot is successful, the Jokaso unit could improve quality of life for small and remote communities by providing access to simple technology that works better than existing systems,鈥� says Christine O鈥橤rady, executive director of ACWA. 鈥淚t has the potential to advance best practices for source water protection and water treatment in Alberta and across Canada.鈥�

Why ACWA?

When Matsuda initially approached FujiClean and the Japan Sewage Works Agency, Japan鈥檚 national wastewater treatment agency, about the potential in the Canadian market, their main concern was winter. 

鈥淟iving here for almost all my life, I know how cold Canadian winters can get, and I know how difficult wastewater treatment is in these extreme climates. That was their first issue too 鈥� 鈥楬ow cold will it be, and will our systems work?鈥欌�� says Matsuda. 

He began searching for a Canadian test bed for the unit, and ACWA was the only facility with the infrastructure required. At ACWA, small amounts of municipal wastewater will be diverted to the Jokaso unit for treatment, and then sampled and tested in ACWA鈥檚 labs, before being sent back to the wastewater facility for treatment. 

鈥淚f the Jokaso has any issues because of the cold, our wastewater will discharge into the municipal facility for treatment. It won't go into the river,鈥� Matsuda explains. 鈥淚f we were to go to a remote community or municipality to pilot this, we would bear that risk of it not working, and the community would have to bear that risk as well.鈥�

Partnerships make it possible

The pilot is the first project under a Memorandum of Understanding between 抖阴APP导航 and Japan Sewage Works Agency. 

鈥�Working with the university gives us a chance to learn from one of the top teams in water and the wastewater sector,鈥� says Ryo Matsuda, project manager, International Affairs Department, Japan Sewage Works Agency. 鈥淭hrough this collaboration, we can test and improve our technologies in a very different climate and environment, and exchange knowledge to strengthen Japan Sewage Works Agency鈥檚 capabilities.鈥�

At ACWA, the pilot project is an opportunity to demonstrate the capacity of the research facility鈥檚 infrastructure. 鈥淎CWA is fully embedded in the Pine Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility, and we couldn鈥檛 have done this without The City of Calgary giving us access to the wastewater we need to evaluate the technology,鈥� says O鈥橤rady.

鈥淭hanks to City leadership, and funding from Alberta Innovates, we were able to complete the necessary construction to make this project happen, and we鈥檙e incredibly grateful for their support.鈥�

鈥淭he City of Calgary is proud to support novel research opportunities for the benefit of the environment and technological advancement,鈥� says Monica Bramley, manager, Utilities Project Development, City of Calgary.

Alberta Innovates and Invest Alberta, the province鈥檚 investment attraction organization, see the potential for positive impact. 鈥�We support innovative, first-of-kind pilots and demonstrations, and technologies that aim to enhance wastewater treatment in rural communities are a priority area for us,鈥� says Alison Deas, technology analyst, Environmental Innovation, Alberta Innovates. 鈥淲e are looking forward to how this project might inform future implementations in Alberta.鈥�

"This pilot project is the beginning of a much larger opportunity to deliver efficient and affordable wastewater treatment to hundreds of rural and indigenous communities across Alberta, says Rick Christiaanse, CEO of Invest Alberta. 鈥淚t's an impactful initiative, and a great opportunity for investors to make a local impact that could ultimately help solve global issues around water safety.鈥�