APPENDIX A
The City’s stormwater assets include:
- More than 1025 km of pipes
- Approximately 15,300 manholes
- More than 22,615 catch basins
- 29 stormwater ponds (wet and dry)
- 39 pump stations
- Approximately 124 km of municipal drains
- Approximately 254 km of roadside ditches
The estimated replacement cost value of the existing stormwater system is approximately $1.8 Billion.
The City has a responsibility to effectively manage this infrastructure and protect the environment. To meet this responsibility, the City:
- Undertakes flood protection projects
- Maintains, repairs and restores existing infrastructure
- Provides emergency response to flooding, spills and clean-up
- Carries out street sweeping
- Enforces by-laws to protect the environment and prevent interference with the operation of the stormwater management system
The City has been adapting its policies and practices in order to meet provincial and federal regulatory requirements. The relevant stormwater rules and regulations include Provincially the Ontario Water Resources Act, Drainage Act, Environmental Protection Act, Emergency Management Act, Water Opportunities Act, Sustainable Water and Sewage Systems Act, Provincial Water Quality Objectives, and Federally the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and Fisheries Act.
4. What are the current costs to local property owners? How does the City fund its stormwater program, including studies?
Generally, the annual stormwater operating budget and capital improvement budget are funded through sewer surcharge. The sewer surcharge is a user rate that reflects the costs of water entering the sewer system from a property, based on the user’s water consumption. The City’s 2020 sewer surcharge budget, which funds operating and capital costs for both sanitary and stormwater systems, is approximately $76.8 million. The City is currently working on separating the stormwater related costs from the sanitary related cost. To date, the City has not tracked these costs independently.