RCCAO urges feds to establish fund to fix water infrastructure

Canada.constructconnect.com
May 3, 2021

A new video by the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO) outlines the significant cost to Ontario municipalities from leaking or broken pipes and deteriorating sewer, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.

The RCCAO is calling on the federal government to establish a municipal water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure fund that would provide money to municipalities to repair systems, saving municipalities significant amounts of money.

Across Ontario, there are sections of underground infrastructure that are well past their useful life and pipes in many municipalities are deteriorating which can lead to drinking water contamination, sewage backups and increased flooding.

A study conducted by the University of Toronto and funded by the RCCAO found that leaky and broken watermain transmission pipes are draining millions of cubic metres of water from municipal systems across Ontario.

“Up to 25 per cent of all drinking water in Toronto is lost due to pipe leakage,” states the release. “The same study estimated that 30 per cent of the energy used to pump the water could be saved if leakage is addressed, resulting in savings of more than $700 million per year.”

A municipal water infrastructure fund would enhance local economic development, create jobs and align with the federal government’s goal of building climate-resilient infrastructure.

“Municipal water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure is often out of sight and out of mind for people -- until there’s a problem, that is,” said RCCAO executive director Nadia Todorova in a statement. “A burst watermain or sewage overflow quickly reminds us of how dependent we are on these critical systems. We must ensure that these systems are kept in a state of good repair.”