Introducing Clearford’s VP of Engineering, John Levie
Merger success
It has been over two years since the Clearford-ASI Water merger, and the company, now fully under Clearford, has continued on its path to deliver unified, decentralized water solutions across Ontario. Once joined together, operations immediately doubled which may seem overwhelming for some, however the akin scope of projects and service offerings made for a smooth transition across the board. Supporting those operations, came a strong engineering team. The small, two-person Clearford engineering team soon became a collaborative division of specialized engineers, headed by John Levie, Clearford’s VP of Engineering (formerly Engineering Services Manager/Senior Engineer for ASI Water).
Mr. Levie came well-equipped in all business areas: existing connections with Clearford leadership, familiarity with operations sites, and conveniently enough, located near one of Clearford’s offices in Stoney Creek, ON. His engineering experience spans over 26 years, with experience ranging from water and wastewater operations to international projects for invasive species management to various water systems for large industrial sites.
Water journey
Mr. Levie holds a diverse portfolio with a career originally in plastics and polymer processing following his undergraduate degree, and then a brief period of working in the Reactor Safety Group at Bruce Power in the early 90s. From there, Mr. Levie shifted back into his studies and obtained his Master of Engineering (Chemical) degree in ’93-‘95.
It did not take long before Mr. Levie transitioned back into hands-on experience work, where he spent five years at ZENON Environmental in the Membrane Production Group, designing and building equipment to mix and produce new membrane products (ZeeWeed line, now a part of Suez). Mr. Levie made his way up to working in areas including research and development (R&D), product design, commissioning & troubleshooting plants, product certification (e.g., NSF and related), and quality assurance.
In 2000, Mr. Levie brought his range of experience over to ASI Water, a division of ASI Group (formerly Aquatic Sciences Inc.). He spent the next 18 years working with Andrew Vitaterna, at the time Manager of Business Development for ASI Water (currently Clearford’s VP of Business Development) to build the division while also supporting the Commercial Diving and Industrial Zebra Mussel Control groups.
Engineering edge
In his most recent role at ASI Water, Mr. Levie frequently visited sites and met with prospective and new clients to gain site knowledge and recommend an engineering solution. With a significant overlap in engineering and operations in the water and wastewater industry, Mr. Levie often heard of Clearford from a competitor stance.
His developed site knowledge that was once stored as an advantage to overcome a competitor, is now a heavily utilized asset that not only supported a smooth merger transition but continues to complement the Clearford mission.
Since the merger, Mr. Levie, VP of Engineering for Clearford, has aided the growth of the engineering division by supporting an increase in operations, clients, and other opportunities to further the design/build/operate model. The main difference in his relatively new role at Clearford is less involvement in industrial water systems support and invasive species, which allots more time to focus on the core business of Clearford – operation of decentralized treatment systems.
“While I have actively worked in the water industry for several years, I am just now experiencing firsthand the markets traction and inclination of decentralized systems, specifically in Ontario,” Mr. Levie shares. “As a result, new markets have been brought to surface level, leading to a number of new leads and opportunities,” he continued.
Nurturing a niche
Clearford is among a small number of firms with staff who fully understand the decentralized servicing design and approval process – we have experience in every aspect of this work including:
- Assist with site plan approvals;
- Alternate sources of fire fighting water;
- Municipal Responsibility Agreements (MRAs);
- Reserve fund studies for capital replacement programs and common element condominium developments;
- Engineering reports;
- Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECAs);
- Treatment system design; and,
- Construction.
Our team of engineers have worked with and designed for installations using conventional treatment methods right up to leading edge and technology systems, from sanitary sewage collection system designs through to advanced water and wastewater treatment systems, meeting extremely stringent effluent limits.
“A critical component of site-specific solutions is collaborating with each client to determine the specific needs of their site as well as the expectations of the client to identify the optimal engineering solution,” explains Mr. Levie. “Our objective is to remain involved through the full life cycle of the project – starting with the design and approval stage, and ultimately the long-term operation to ensure management continuity of each system.”
Tailoring treatment solutions
Clearford aims to be the leader in water and wastewater operations for decentralized servicing. The knowledge and experience in the engineering group not only supports this mission, but has also positioned Clearford at the head of the pack in delivering site-specific solutions and helping our clients navigate the approval process at both the municipal and provincial level. Delivering decentralized systems to support developments helps municipalities and provinces grow its community and lessen its ecological footprint. Subsequently, the Clearford team’s experience and depth of knowledge strengthens and solidifies our site-specific approach and ability to provide a clear path forward in providing drinking water to protect public health and meeting regulatory compliance requirements to protect the environment. As more developments opt for decentralized systems, the market for long‑term operation and engineering support expands.
The current market is leading to an increased request for design and approvals for new decentralized systems. Land developers are moving out from traditional areas with municipal servicing, expanding to rural areas where on-site servicing is the preferred option. The increase in rural populations in Ontario and surrounding areas has worked favorably in Mr. Levie’s engineering model, where he has put a high focus on working with new clients, in new geographic areas. To move into these new markets, Mr. Levie spends time networking by fielding calls, meeting with development partners, and often, securing agreements with prospective clients, frequently those with multiple sites.
Looking forward, Mr. Levie envisions only growth in the decentralized markets. Municipalities lack funds to expand servicing, or are constrained by environmental conditions in some areas, which prohibits development expansion. The rise in new, modular technology and affordable systems is making it a more viable option to provide private servicing, which is right where we want to be.
