Clearford Announces Deferral of Filing of its Annual Consolidated Financial Statements and Management Discussion and Analysis

OTTAWA, April 28, 2020 /CNW/ - Clearford Water Systems Inc. ("Clearford" or the "Company"), (TSXV: CLI), announced today that COVID-19-related restrictions have delayed the Company's ability to meet the deadlines prescribed by National Instrument 51-102 – Continuous Disclosure Obligations ("NI 51-102").

The Company intends to rely upon blanket orders and similar instruments (including Ontario Instrument 51-502 Temporary Exemption From Certain Corporate Financing Requirements) recently granted by various securities regulatory authorities in Canada (collectively, the "Blanket Relief"), which provide temporary relief to reporting issuers from certain requirements of NI 51-102.

In particular, the Company intends to rely upon the Blanket Relief to exempt it from the filing and delivery of the following by the prescribed deadline of April 29, 2020:

• its audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 as required by section 4.2 of NI 51-102; and
• its management discussion & analysis as required by subsection 5.1(2) of NI 51-102.

The Company estimates that its annual audited financial statements and annual management discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2019 will be filed on or before June 10, 2020.

The Company confirms there have not been any material undisclosed business developments since November 21, 2019, being the date of the last interim financial statements filed by the Company with various securities regulatory authorities in Canada, other than the various impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. While it continues to operate as an essential service, the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced administrative complexity due to staff policies on social distancing resulting in delays in completing the financial statements and MD&A for the completed fiscal year.

The Company confirms that its management and other insiders are subject to an insider trading black-out policy that reflects the principles in Section 9 of National Policy 11-107 – Failure-to-File Cease Trade Orders and Revocations in Multiple Jurisdictions, such that they are subject to trading restrictions until the commencement of the second trading day after its annual audited financial statements and annual management discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2019 have been filed subject to NI 51-102.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About Clearford Water Systems Inc.
Clearford Water Systems is a provider of unified water management solutions for the design, deployment, finance and operation of water infrastructure systems. The Company's technology-based water solutions include Clearford One^® wastewater infrastructure systems, Clearford M‑brane™ packaged treatment solutions, and a full range of UV Pure^® water disinfection products. Clearford is the winner of the Frost & Sullivan 2017 Enabling Technology Leadership Award for Global Decentralized Water & Wastewater Treatment. For more information, visit www.clearford.com.

About Clearford Waterworks Inc. and Clearford ASI Inc. (Clearford subsidiaries)
Clearford Waterworks Inc. and Clearford ASI Inc. are full-service providers of water and wastewater systems management including in-field operations and maintenance, emergency operations, regulatory compliance support, engineering services and technical assistance and troubleshooting, and asset management services. The company operates over 170 treatment plants, water distribution and wastewater collection systems in Ontario for small municipalities, private developments, golf courses, camps and campgrounds.

About UV Pure Technologies Inc. (a Clearford subsidiary)
UV Pure Technologies is a manufacturer of advanced ultraviolet water disinfection systems for residential, commercial, industrial, public, and municipal applications. The company's patented Crossfire Technology^® is an innovative water disinfection solution with over 18,000 installations worldwide. UV Pure has earned an Artemis Top 50 Clean Tech Company award, Going Green Global Top 200 award, two Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards, and a Canadian Drinking Water Association award for innovation. For more information, visit www.uvpure.com.

Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking statements as they relate to the Company and its management.  Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but represent management's current expectation of future events, and can be identified by words such as "believe", "expects", "will", "intends", "plans", "projects", "anticipates", "estimates", "continues" and similar expressions.  Although management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct.

By their nature, forward-looking statements include assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.  If and when forward-looking statements are set out in this news release, Clearford will also set out the material risk factors or assumptions used to develop the forward-looking statements. Except as expressly required by applicable securities law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements. The future outcomes that relate to forward-looking statements may be influenced by many factors, including, but not limited to: industry cyclicality; the ability to secure third party agreements; successful integration of Clearford's system with third party technology; competition; reduction in demand for products; collection from customers; relationships with suppliers; product liability; intellectual property; reliance on key personnel; environmental; interest rates; uninsured and underinsured losses; operating hazards; risks of future legal proceedings; income tax matters; credit facilities; availability and terms of financing; distribution of securities; restrictions on potential growth; effect of market interest rates on price of securities; and potential dilution.

SOURCE Clearford Water Systems Inc.