September 30, 2009

Canadian Construction Association meeting

Wastewater rules could lead to more industry activity

VINCE VERSACE

staff writer

ST. JOHN’S, N.L.

New proposed federal regulations for managing municipal wastewater could provide additional activity for construction industry stakeholders across Canada.

The proposed regulations will set national performance standards, timelines and monitoring and reporting requirements in order to protect water resources. Canadian Construction Association (CCA) members discussed the recent federal announcement during the association’s fall board meeting in St. John’s, N.L.

“They (proposed regulations) are going to be consistent with current technologies and are not looking to add to the municipal burden,” explained Bill Ferreira, CCA director of government relations and public affairs. “The federal government will work with municipalities to ensure that whatever system they put in place will allow them time to implement these standards.”

The regulations, still in development, are intended to fulfill the goals of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment’s Municipal Water Strategy. The federal government estimates that more than 4,000 wastewater treatment facilities across Canada will be fall under the regulations.

Wayne Morsky, CCA first national vice-chairman, said that in recent meetings with officials from Public Works and Government Services Canada they mentioned that addressing wastewater issues would be a priority, especially in First Nations communities.

Infrastructure and construction activity on First Nations reserves received a $515 million allocation over two years in this year’s federal budget. This funding is meant for shovel-ready projects in the priority areas of water, schools and critical community services.

An estimated $165 million was earmarked for the completion of drinking water and wastewater projects on First Nations reserves.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities expressed early concern about the possible costs the regulations could bring.

“They are not looking to raise the bar to a whole new level, although a lot of municipalities are investing a lot in their infrastructure across the country through various programs,” said Ferreira.

Various CCA members expect that the retrofits and upgrades to current systems will likely be the majority of projects resulting from the regulations.

A Statistics Canada study released last year found that the average age of sanitary and storm sewer systems rose slightly from 2002 to 2007 in all provinces except Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Ontario’s sanitary and storm sewers average age was at 18.4 years in 2002, dropping to 18.3 years in 2007.

Also, 54 per cent of Ontario’s storm and sewer systems have passed their estimated useful life, compared to 53 per cent nationally.

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