WCOWMA-BC is saddened to report that Curt Kerns, President/Chief Science Officer of WetlandsPacific Corp. passed away suddenly on August 13^th  in Nanaimo, B.C.  As an environmentalist, Curt was a passionate supporter and advocate for the onsite wastewater industry and its technologies. He was especially interested in the use of constructed wetlands to remediate wastewater.  Curt held an M.S. in Fisheries Science, minor in agricultural economics, and was a  Registered Professional Biologist and Certified Fisheries Scientist. As a former tenured, associate professor in the aquatic sciences, he was an avid believer in education.  He was an innovator, and to that end he held three patents in a new class of constructed wetlands, the Vegetative Tertiary Filter.

Curt was a long-time member of the British Columbia Water and Wastewater Association (BCWWA) and a founding member of WCOWMA Onsite Wastewater Management of BC (WCOWMA-BC).  Curt served on the Board of Directors of both those organizations as well as a variety of other Boards and Committees as a representative of the onsite wastewater industry.

During his working life Curt was a recipient of the BCWWA Golden Shovel, MISTIC Award for Environmental Excellence, and the BCWWA Award for Excellence in Decentralized Wastewater Technology.

A Celebration of Curt’s life will be held later in the year.  Donations in Curt’s memory may be made to  the Palliative Care Unit at the Nanaimo General Hospital.