To help mitigate risk to the City, a policy for repurposing septic tanks would need to include provisions for review by a qualified individual and records retention until the repurposed septic tank was removed or filled with native material (decommissioned) under a Building Permit. Such a program would require a registry with a fee recovery system as deemed appropriate by Council.

Should Council direct that administration proceed with CR 433/2020, the circumstances in which a Building Permit would be issued would be extremely rare, and would still pose residual risk to public health and well-being. Should such a risk materialize, there is a risk of liability on the City, ranging from allegations that Council approved an unreasonable policy, to allegations that Administration was negligent in carrying out the requirements of the policy at an operational level. Likewise, there are environmental risks and potential consequences should any party violate governing environmental legislation.

Climate Change Risks

Climate Change Mitigation:

Climate Change Adaptation:

Financial Matters:

Consultations:

Dana Paladino, Deputy City Solicitor – Purchasing, Risk Management, and Provincial Offences.

Conclusion:

Based on the stringent requirements for rainwater storage systems in Ontario and the additional costs of overcoming the challenges of cleaning, modifying and certifying an existing septic tank for rainwater storage, modifying an existing septic tank to handle rainwater would be an uneconomical approach for homeowners. Further consideration needs to be given to the potential health and safety risks to the homeowners and the municipality when allowing older septic tanks to be re-purposed. Based on this, Administration recommends that CR433/2020 be rescinded.