Last year the city of Toronto began receiving a new supply of
water from Lake Ontario for drinking and building cooling use.
The intake system was installed by Enwave District Energy Ltd.
of Toronto, in partnership with the city, to help eliminate odor
and taste problems and create an alternative to conventional air
conditioning for buildings located in the downtown area.
Shareholders in Enwave include Toronto and the Ontario Municipal
Employees Retirement System (OMERS). The concept of a dual-
purpose system using deep lake water, first proposed almost 25
years ago, was brought to the planning and design phase through
the efforts of Michael Nobrega, president of Borelais Penco
Fund—a wholly owned subsidiary of OMERS. Nobrega was
instrumental in securing a $5 million advance from OMERS to
cover pre-design and design of the system. “Michael has been a
driving force from day one,” said Enwave president and CEO,
Dennis Fotinos. “From 1996, studies and preliminary work were
carried on until system design was compl