The Geoffrey F. Bruce Fellowship in Canadian Freshwater Policy 2025 recipients
As an Environmental Applied Science and Management PhD student, Dima Balaa’s research focuses on the intersection of water quality, treatment systems, public health and water policy. She holds a master’s degree from TMU, where she examined public-risk perceptions and policy challenges of microplastics and nanoplastics in drinking water. Balaa recently published this research which included policy considerations and recommendations on these emerging contaminants in the Environmental Research: Health journal.
A lead researcher with the interdisciplinary Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) Smart Blue Roof project in Mississauga, Ont., Balaa is investigating water quality in standing water on blue roof systems related to Ontario’s water policies, standards and building codes. This technology could be very beneficial across a wide range of public and private sector applications. Balaa’s research integrates a focus on the feasibility and environmental benefits of blue roof technologies with microbial and physicochemical public health and safety data. Her research also evaluates how policy and regulatory limitations affect stormwater management performance, energy efficiency and safe water reuse. These policy and regulatory aspects of her research will be advanced significantly through her Bruce Fellowship.
As a Bruce Fellow, Balaa will engage with policymakers, water managers and industry partners to translate her findings into actionable policy recommendations, including evidence-based guidelines for controlled water retention and water reuse from rooftops. Her work aims to generate recommendations related to national and provincial policies and building codes to strengthen water governance, advance climate-resilient technology and urban infrastructure, promote public health and safety, and contribute to important policy innovation related to water retention and reuse. Balaa is also participating in the Bruce Fellowship-Canada Water Agency mentorship program to gain additional insights related to the policy impact of her research and her future career path.
A Master of Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) student, Michelle Jadormeo’s research focuses on the emerging issue of water demands related to artificial intelligence (AI) and data centre infrastructure. With an increasing number of data centres emerging across Canada, the Great Lakes region and in urban centres near water, her research focuses on the policy challenges that AI and data centres present in areas already facing increasing demands on water and water infrastructure. At stake is far more than an engineering and technology challenge; it is a profoundly political and socio-economic challenge.
Through comparative policy analysis, Jadormeo will examine policy gaps and regulatory blind spots in Canada’s oversight of these large-scale water use technologies and users. The Bruce Fellowship funding will allow her to focus on her conviction that Canadian freshwater policy cannot remain reactive in face of global, geopolitical and rapid technological change. Through this fellowship, Jadormeo is also participating in the Bruce Fellowship-Canada Water Agency mentorship program to learn how to advance evidence-based, principled and forward-looking freshwater governance. She hopes her research will allow her to make a significant policy contribution on this important topic and pursue a career as a future water policy leader.
Beyond her master’s research, Jadormeo is currently working as a research assistant in the Department of Politics and Public Administration, and an academic assistant for the course Power and Influence in Canadian Politics. She also serves as MPPA program council representative and volunteers with Journey Home Hospice, providing compassionate care to people experiencing homelessness. At heart, she is driven by a clear purpose: to reimagine Canada’s approach to water governance in ways that are forward-thinking, equitable and rooted in respect for Indigenous water rights.