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The provincial government is contemplating creating a new layer of management for local water and sewage systems, a move that would likely result in an increase in consumers’ bills of $40 to $50 a month.
David Caplan, the former cabinet minister who proposed the changes in a recent private member’s bill, says Ontario’s aging water pipes need replacing and the creation of an Ontario Water Board is the best way to do it.
Sources within the government say the government is considering adopting elements of Caplan’s bill.
Cities like Ottawa are still sending water through pipes from the 1870s, he says.
The old pipes cause a number of problems. There is a high degree of seepage, meaning between 25 per cent and 50 per cent of all fresh water gets lost in transit.
The leaks also cause washouts in roads and basement floods.
A 2005 report estimated the cost of revamping Ontario’s water infrastructure at $30 billion over 15 years.
Caplan says the work is not being done fast enough.
“We have to develop a plan to deal with this now because we’ll be dealing with it on an emergency basis later if we don’t,” he says. “You pay now or you pay double later.”
In Ottawa, the water and sewage systems are part of the city government, and the system is required to pay for itself.
Caplan’s bill would establish local utilities with independent boards responsible for charging consumers the full cost of providing clean water.
The system could be more challenging in smaller communities that need expensive new water and sewer plants but have fewer users to assume the costs.
Ottawa Councillor Peter Hume, chairman of the council committee that oversees the water system here and is also president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, says Ottawa will spend $188 million on revitalizing the system this year.
Houses in the city are fully metered and all water and sewer costs are currently being recovered, he says.
“Why do we need a regulator? What’s the need for that?” says Hume.
The Council of Canadians lobby group, which lists protection of public access to clean water as one of its chief issues, objects to local water utilities — something it sees as a way to “corporatize” water services.
“It would set up a system a lot more attractive to private investment,” said Meera Karunananthan, the group’s water specialist.
Caplan’s private member’s bill draws extensively from a 2005 report he commissioned but ultimately never acted on. Caplan is now a backbencher.
“If they were serious about it, he could have brought in a bill when he was minister of infrastructure,” says New Democrat MPP Peter Tabuns.
Insiders say Caplan tried and failed to get similar legislation through cabinet when he was minister.
Some believe the Liberals will now take a long look at adopting his ideas as part of a longer-term plan.
Hume doesn’t agree.
“I heard (current infrastructure minister) Brad Duguid just on Thursday say it’s not government policy,” he said.
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