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Workshop Report

National Workshop on Priority Issues for Municipal

Water Management May 30, 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2

1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 5

2.0 IDENTIFYING KEY NATIONAL ISSUES 6

3.0 PRIORITIZING KEY ISSUES 11

4.0 SUMMARY AND NEXT STEPS 13

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS 14

APPENDIX B: WORKSHOP AGENDA 16

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

TABLE 1: TOP FOUR NEEDS IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE PRIORITIZATION EXERCISE 4

TABLE 2: KEY NATIONAL NEEDS GENERATED AT THE MAY 30, 2013 WORKSHOP 10

FIGURE 1: SUMMARY OF ELECTRONIC VOTING RESULTS PRIORITIZING NATIONAL NEEDS 12

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On May 30, 2013, the “National Workshop on Priority Issues for Municipal Water Management” (the workshop) was held by Canadian Water Network (CWN) in Toronto, Ontario. The desired outcome was to identify how CWN can provide further value to Canadian decision makers through its Canadian Municipal Water Consortium (CMWC) by the addition of a higher level National Priorities “Tier 1” function to the CMWC’s structure.

The CMWC is a national research consortium addressing municipal water management needs. It has operated as part of CWN’s core structure since 2009. The addition of a higher level of (Tier 1) networking and knowledge integration activities to the CMWC structure was proposed that would build upon the CMWC’s successful program and advance National Priority Issues common to municipal water managers across Canada by:

• providing access to deep research that can support the high-level decision making needed to address current Canadian municipal water management challenges;

• ensuring that priority issues facing those managing Canada’s municipal water systems drive research and technical discussions;

• enabling significant leveraging of resources to address common priorities across Canada;

• ensuring that more leading research and knowledge is relevant to policy and practice, taking into account Canadian regulatory and socioeconomic realities;

• convening regular high-level networking meetings and activities enabling participants to engage in important and ongoing dialogue, share knowledge and practice, and stay ahead of emerging issues; and,

• supporting the common messaging needed to better equip participants for policy deliberations and public discourse.

The May 30 workshop participants included senior water managers and industry leaders from a range of municipal water systems across Canada. The workshop explored their needs within identified issue areas that were developed and had resonated during recent consultations with the CMWC. Workshop participants engaged in a prioritization of important needs that they felt could be best addressed in these areas through a coordinated, national consortium using a high-level Tier 1 approach to deal with common “big-picture” concerns. Specifically, the workshop focused on identifying needs and approaches for which there was:

• a common interest among municipalities and a shared desire for more integrated peer sharing of research results, resources and practices;

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• a clear value to having a more broadly or nationally articulated position for key issues, challenges and options;

• a need to interpret/articulate the significance of emerging knowledge to the particular Canadian realities and regulatory contexts; and,

• an interest in generating better understanding and articulating “What the science says about…” key areas to underpin decisions and appropriately customize communications approaches.

Participants generated a number of key needs that they felt should be addressed within the issue areas explored. They then prioritized those needs they felt were both most important to address and that had strong potential to be advanced through the CMWC, particularly with addition of a national Tier 1 level.

Whereas the group saw value in the potential for the CMWC to advance a variety of different approaches or activities, a strong desire was expressed across the issue areas for a credible interpretation and articulation of the state-of-the-knowledge and science-based options. A national, arms-length group capable of credibly articulating the state-of-the-knowledge was seen as key for the development of common messaging. This messaging would in turn underpin decisions and recommendations for resourcing, obtaining regulatory and political support, and promoting effective public communications.

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Table 1: Top Four Needs Identified Through the Prioritization Exercise

Issue Areas Priority National Needs

Governance and Financing for Municipal Water – Addressing the Challenges of Sustainable Management and Changing Models

Better articulation of elements comprising full-cost recovery

Stormwater Management – Dealing with Urban Drainage and Non-point Source Inputs

Addressing public expectations for ability to manage extreme events (e.g., through social marketing of credible messages, etc.)

Biosolids and Wastewater – Moving to the Next Steps

Clearer articulation of state-of-the-knowledge on risk and benefits of biosolids management options Development of common messaging for implications of biosolids and wastewater management approaches for public uptake

CWN has already initiated knowledge integration projects addressing a subset of these needs. The CMWC will work with its Core Supporters to generate further information in 2014 to support Core Supporters’ desire for better synthesis on state-of-the-knowledge supporting decisions and more common messaging across these issue areas.

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1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND In Canada, municipalities have been delegated significant responsibility for drinking water, stormwater and wastewater management. Provinces and territories shape much of the framework within which they act through prevailing regulations and programs. The federal government also plays a significant role, such as seen recently through the implementation of the new wastewater regulations under the Fisheries Act.

Accordingly, municipal utilities stand at the front lines of addressing current and future water, wastewater and stormwater challenges. These include the rising costs of upgrading and maintaining infrastructure, the challenge of meeting increasingly stringent regulatory requirements, addressing public concerns with respect to municipal water supplies, and combating and responding to climate change and its implications for water management in Canada. To help meet these challenges, municipalities and the public depend on provincial and federal governments to appropriately shape the systems and pertinent regulations, as well as provide the necessary support structures for capacity developments and innovations in the water sector. It is clearly in the interest of all three levels of government and the private sector to be proactive in identifying effective and practical solutions that are based on good science and practice, and that facilitate attaining goals that are consistent with established and emerging regulatory frameworks.

In recognition of this system and the shared goals and challenges that result, Canadian Water Network (CWN) through its Canadian Municipal Water Consortium (CMWC) has been working to identify key municipal water management priorities as defined by those working in the municipal sector. Within those identified priority areas, the CWMC seeks to provide the critical knowledge and research needed to support decisions and, importantly, to clarify the implications of research for decision-making and risk management.

Building on the successful launch of the CMWC in 2009, CWN has identified a significant desire from its partners to expand on the consortium’s coordination of interests, experience, and potential for assessing shared issues at the national level. A National Priorities “Tier 1” function is being added as a result. Tier 1 activities will build upon and further leverage the capacity and outcomes of the research, knowledge integration and other activities of the CMWC. Key dialogues and networking meetings will be established in an active national venue that includes a multi-stakeholder group comprised of representatives from municipalities, provincial and federal governments, supporting industries and services, and non-governmental organizations across Canada. These national dialogues and meetings will be used to determine overlapping goals and common interests, set priorities to be addressed

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further through the CMWC (Tier 2 and 3) activities and identify issues that would benefit from a more common national messaging. As such, the addition of a Tier 1 function to the CMWC will:

• ensure articulation of important discussions, analyses and solution options that are pertinent to major strategic and capital investment decisions;

• provide for networking and interaction among high-level colleagues from across Canada to share insights and lessons learned, as well as provide assessments of common needs and perspectives;

• establish the priority areas to be addressed by the CMWC (through Tier 2 and Tier 3 integration and research activities); and,

• ensure that important issues stay at the forefront of discussions in Canada, are given prominence, and are articulated in an annual CMWC National Priorities report.

To inform development of these activities, CWN hosted the “National Workshop on Priority Issues for Municipal Water Management” (the workshop) on May 30, 2013 in Toronto, Ontario. At the workshop, municipal water managers and industry leaders from across Canada (see Appendix A: Workshop Participants) convened to identify, discuss and prioritize municipal water, wastewater and stormwater needs on a national level, and discuss how CWN can address these needs through the development of a higher level National Priorities Tier 1 function to the CMWC. This report provides a summary of the key findings of that workshop discussion and outcomes.

2.0 IDENTIFYING KEY NATIONAL NEEDS

The workshop agenda is provided in Appendix B. The workshop commenced with a brief introduction and overview of the CMWC by Bernadette Conant and Grahame Farquhar, Executive Director and Senior Advisor, respectively, for CWN. This included a discussion of the CMWC and particularly the concept of adding a national networking and prioritization function. Participants were asked to provide input in terms of where and how the CMWC, augmented with a Tier 1 function, could result in particular value for municipal water decision makers in Canada.

The majority of the day was organized around peer-group exchange of experiences, challenges and interests, with a focus on what the nature of the challenges were that might be best addressed through a shared national approach. Discussions were organized within the following issue areas, which were previously identified as being of interest to a significant cross-section of participants:

• Governance and Financing for Municipal Water – Addressing the Challenges of Sustainable Management and Changing Models.

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• Stormwater Management – Dealing with Urban Drainage and Non-point Source Inputs.

• Biosolids and Wastewater – Moving to the Next Steps.

• Lead and Other Drinking Water Contaminants of Concern – Balancing Public Concerns with

Current Emerging Science.

The general scope of the discussion that occurred in each issue area is summarized below. Table 2 provides a summary of the two to four key needs identified within each issue area discussion, which were then used for the ensuing prioritization exercise (described in Section 3.0).

Governance and Financing for Municipal Water – Addressing the Challenges of Sustainable Management and Changing Models This discussion area was kicked off with a presentation by Steve Stanley (EPCOR) and follow-up contributions from Derrick Bellows (City of Regina). The presentations and ensuing discussions articulated the evolution and application of various finance and governance models that have evolved as water utilities strive for increased efficiency, including full-cost recovery for the provision of water services. A variety of experiences with governance and financing models among jurisdictions were exchanged, including the particular challenges of the emerging realities of operating 21st century service delivery models for water and the requirements of design, build, finance and operation models within exiting regulatory regimes. The different interpretations of what could be included in the scope of “full cost recovery” and how that would impact decision making, as well as the various elements of significance of public-private-partnerships (P3s) and how these are evolving in Canada were major points of discussion. The potential for advancements in data sharing and analysis to support and advance collective learning was also discussed.

Stormwater Management – Dealing with Urban Drainage and Non-Point Source Inputs This discussion commenced with a presentation from Paul Fesko (City of Calgary), which highlighted the role of non-point sources as a driver for water quality management and the need for integrated water resource management (IWRM) in the context of stormwater and wastewater management. The emergence of green infrastructure was shown as a mechanism contributing to realization of the goal of IWRM. Participants engaged in discussions about the considerations of options for implementing management and infrastructure options to address different issues and the variation in support for such initiatives depending on a number of factors. Lack of an ability to use research and existing knowledge to more effectively connect realistic expectations for options to reduce costs and future

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impacts was cited as one of the major impediments to use of green or innovative approaches. Included in the discussion was a consideration of the problem of combined sewer overflows and the potential pros and cons of fully separated storm and sanitary sewers in order to maximize treatment effectiveness and better deal with impacts of discharges on aquatic ecosystems (i.e., receiving waters). Within the area of stormwater management, participants identified a strong need for support for a common message to underpin development of public expectations around dealing with the effects of catastrophic weather, and how these impacts differ from stormwater management that occurs within a reasonable and expected range of conditions. This was seen as crucial for supporting a different and important paradigm of municipal and public preparedness that recognizes the important distinctions and interplay of system management and emergency and catastrophe preparedness and response.

Biosolids and Wastewater – Moving to the Next Steps Susheel Arora (Halifax Water) and Ted Robbins (Capital Regional District, Victoria) provided the introductory presentation and comments that elucidated challenges with the interpretation and implementation of the new federal wastewater regulations and impending biosolids regulations. Much of the discussion revolved around resolving the desire to move towards the paradigm of greater reuse of resources and energy in a more holistic management of systems and the challenges in Canada of doing so. The challenges of establishing economically viable systems for resource recovery, recycling and management (i.e., avoiding a “false economy”) and the hurdle of regulatory “mismatch” situations, where existing regulations actually dissuaded movement towards desired goals, were discussed. This was seen as an area where better development of knowledge for application in a Canadian setting was needed to improve uptake of solutions. Improved credible analysis and synthesis of what is known about the capabilities and implications of wastewater and biosolids approaches was also seen as a key need. Despite considerable experience that may exist in some areas for biosolids or wastewater, participants expressed that decisions were often hampered or even “undone” by lack of credible information and messaging that was accepted as a reliable basis. Lead and Other Drinking Water Contaminants of Concern – Balancing Public Concerns with Current Emerging Science. In the final topic area, Lou Di Gironimo (Toronto Water) provided focus on how the advancement of the science through research enabled policy change and influenced management decisions for a large program dealing with lead in drinking water and corrosion control in Toronto. Lead was used as one example of a priority drinking water concern, but discussions considered other issues and emerging contaminants more broadly. Participants discussed the value of a consortium effort in enabling jurisdictions to conduct and compare longitudinal studies for measures such as lead control that would

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better enable them to assess their effectiveness. Another area explored in the discussion was the increasing awareness of non-point-source inputs of both pathogens and emerging contaminants of concern on source waters, particularly with the increasingly episodic nature of recharge events expected with climate change. In addition to this increased awareness, participants identified an overall support for a movement toward holistic systems management for protections of public health, as opposed to siloed reliance simply on treatment barriers. Given these shifts, the group identified a need to advance the ability to link source protection strategies to the ability to support multi-barrier approaches for minimizing risk to public health with respect to drinking water.

The key needs, identified within each of the issue areas, that participants felt should be advanced and for which the CMWC approach held promise for achievement are summarized in Table 2. This list of 12 needs was used for consideration in the subsequent prioritization exercise to determine those activities that might have most value to be pursued through CMWC in its evolved structure.

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Table 2: Key National Needs Generated at the May 30, 2013 Workshop Note: Needs marked with an * and in bold represent the top four priorities resulting from the prioritization exercise described in Figure 1.

Issue Area Key National Needs

(1) Changing Models in Canadian Governance and Financing (to Address the Challenge of Sustainable Management)

1. Consolidation and comparative assessment of capacity of existing governance models and options

2. Better articulation of elements comprising full-cost recovery*

3. Improved approaches to data pooling/sharing with respect to governance/finance experience

(2) Managing Stormwater, Urban Drainage and Non-point-source Inputs

4. Establishing economic business case for green infrastructure

5. Addressing public expectations for ability to manage extreme events (e.g., through social marketing of credible messages etc.)*

6. Changing business case for separation of stormwater for treatment or direct discharge

7. Improved stormwater modelling beyond current capabilities

(3) Biosolids and Wastewater - Moving to the Next Steps

8. Clearer articulation of state-of-the-knowledge on risk and benefits of biosolids management options*

9. Clarifying areas of mismatch between current regulations and intended outcomes that result in barriers to progress towards goals.

10. Development of common messaging of implications of biosolids and wastewater management approaches for public uptake*

(4) Lead and Other Drinking Water Contaminants of Concern - Balancing Public Concerns with Current/Emerging Science

11. Longitudinal study on effective measures of lead control

12. Science to support more effective source water protection strategies

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3.0 PRIORITIZING KEY NATIONAL NEEDS

Following the identification of the 12 key needs, workshop attendees participated in a prioritization activity. The workshop attendees were asked to consider which needs were most critical (that is, most important to advance to achieve success in water management), as well as which needs were most likely to be advanced through the CMWC. Using electronic voting devices, which allowed the group to vote in real-time, the participants rated each of the key needs articulated by the group through the previous discussions on a scale of 1 to 5 against the criteria listed below:

(1) In your opinion, how critical is this need to Canadian municipalities? (1 = least critical, 5 = most critical)

(2) In your opinion, what is the likelihood of advancing the need through a consortium approach? (1 = least likely, 5 = most likely)

Figure 1 (below) presents the results of the electronic voting by participants; the numbers are those assigned to the 12 needs as listed in Table 2.1

1 Due to an electronic error, workshop participants did not have the opportunity to vote on Need 3, “Improved approaches to data pooling/sharing with respect to governance/finance experience.” As a result, this need is not represented in Figure 1 or the following discussion of the prioritization results.

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Figure 1: Summary of Electronic Voting Results Prioritizing National Needs

As illustrated in Figure 1, the need identified as most critical to Canadian municipalities and most likely to be advanced through a consortium approach was the “Development of common messaging of implications of biosolids and wastewater management approaches for public uptake” (Need 10) under the issue area: Biosolids and Wastewater Management – Moving to the Next Steps. Within the same issue area, the workshop participants supported that the “Clearer articulation of state-of-the knowledge on risk and benefits of biosolids management options” (Need 8) was another top priority to be addressed. “Better articulation of elements comprising full-cost recovery” (Need 2) under the issue area: Governance and Financing for Municipal Water – Addressing the Challenges of Sustainable Management and Changing Models and “Addressing public expectations for ability to manage extreme events (e.g., through social marketing of credible messages etc.)” (Need 5) under the issue area: Stormwater Management – Dealing with Urban Drainage and Non-point Source Inputs were also identified as critical with strong likelihood of advancement.

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By virtue of the workshop exercise, all the needs identified represented areas of importance and of relevance to advancement through a national entity such as the CMWC. However, the prioritization exercise also revealed a clear need among leaders in municipal water management for access to credible interpretation and articulation of the state-of-the-knowledge and science-based information to underpin both decisions and communications. In addition to sharing expertise, the group expressed a strong need for coordinated interpretation of the implications of existing and emerging science to support the group’s shared options analysis and generation of common messaging about the pros and cons of various options. This common knowledge base for messaging was seen as critical for supporting decisions during regulatory development, for instance, or making recommendations for resourcing at the management or political level. It was also seen as equally or possibly more important for supporting workshop participants’ public communications activities.

4.0 SUMMARY AND NEXT STEPS The workshop confirmed the interest from participants for adding a national priorities integration function to the CMWC to advance critical issues and needs in a number of important areas that are not currently being adequately addressed. A list of 12 needs that the CMWC could advance was generated from the workshop presentations and discussion session. The top four needs, as identified through a prioritization exercise, revealed a strong desire for development of credible synthesis and articulation of the state-of-the-knowledge in several areas to support common understanding and messaging. CWN is establishing a formal Tier 1 function within the CMWC in 2014, including addition of Core Supporters to its membership structure. The CMWC will produce a National Priorities report for dissemination in 2014, and will also develop materials to support some of the common articulation and messaging needs identified through this workshop.

Appendix A: Workshop Participants

Name Title Affiliation

Canadian Water Network

Bernadette Conant Executive Director Canadian Water Network

Katrina Hitchman Manager of Knowledge Mobilization and Training Canadian Water Network

Kaitlin Gibbens Event Manager Canadian Water Network

Jenn Willoughby Manager of Strategic Marketing and Outreach Canadian Water Network

Grahame Farquhar Senior Advisor Canadian Water Network

Shannon Carto Program Coordinator Canadian Water Network

Alex Chik Consortium Integration and Planning Intern Canadian Water Network

Kathryn Ross Communications and Media Coordinator Canadian Water Network

Nova Scotia

Susheel Arora Director of Wastewater Services Halifax Water

Ontario

Nick Reid Vice President, Strategic Partnerships Ontario Clean Water Agency

Rodney Bouchard General Manager  Union Water Supply System

Cliff Curtis Commissioner of Works Durham Region

John Presta Director, Environmental Services Durham Region

Dave Andrews Director, Wastewater Services Halton Region

Dan Mckinnon Director, Hamilton Water City of Hamilton

Geoff Bache Deputy Commissioner Muskoka District

Ken Brothers Commissioner of Public Works Niagara Region

Darrell Matson Manager, Infrastructure and Operations Thunder Bay

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Lou Di Gironimo General Manager, Water City of Toronto

Madalena Melo‐Pereira Business Administration City of Toronto

Stephen Buckley General Manager, Transportation Services City of Toronto

Erin Mahoney Commissioner of Environmental Services York Region

David Szeptycki  Head of Strategy, Liaison and Policy Implementation York Region

Kathleen Llewellyn‐Thomas Commissioner of Transportation and Community Planning York Region

Andrew Farr Director ‐ Water Division Peel Region

Thomas Schmidt Commissioner of Transportation and Environmental Services Waterloo Region

Mario Sonego City Engineer City of Windsor

Saskatchewan

Kurtis Doney Project Engineer City of Regina

Derrick Bellows Director ‐ Special Projects Secretariat  City of Regina

Alberta

Todd Wyman Director, Drainage Planning City of Edmonton

Paul Fesko Manager, Strategic Services City of Calgary

Rob Spackman Manager, Infrastructure Planning City of Calgary

Steven Stanley Senior Vice President, EPCOR Water Service Canada EPCOR

Jon Sweetman Manager, Water Resources Alberta Innovates

British Columbia

Ted Robbins General Manager, Integrated Water Services Capital Regional District

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Appendix B: Workshop Agenda

Time Description Location/Speaker(s)

8:00 to 8:30 am Breakfast (provided) Niagara Room 8:30 am Introductory and Welcome Remarks Lou Di Gironimo (Toronto Water) 8:40 to 9:00 am CWN and Canadian Municipal Water

Consortium Bernadette Conant (CWN)

9:00 to 9:15 am CMWC Highlights and State of the Research Grahame Farquhar (CWN) 9:15 to 9:30 am Proposed CMWC “Tier 1” Addition in 2013+

and Workshop Goals/Structure Bernadette Conant (CWN)

9:30 to 9:45 am Q & A All 9:45 to 10:10 am Discussion Topic 1: Addressing the Challenge

of Sustainable Management – Changing Models in Canadian Governance and Financing for Municipal Water

Moving from single models and centralized water delivery revenues to varied approaches for sustainability, including cost causation and recovery principles.

Kickoff talk for discussion – Steve Stanley (EPCOR), with comments by Derrick Bellows (City of Regina)

10:10 to 10:55 am Group Discussion of Key Interests in Topic Area - What are the discussions that need to be had that aren’t happening?

All

10:55 to 11:10 am Coffee Break 11:10 to 11:35 am Discussion Topic 2: Managing Stormwater,

Urban Drainage and Non-point-source Inputs

How Getting to “Integrated Water Management” and Greener Infrastructure is playing out –including outfalls and CSOs.

Kick off talk for discussion – Paul Fesko (City of Calgary)

11:35 am to 12:20 pm

Group Discussion of Key Interests in Topic Area – What are the discussions that need to be had that aren’t happening?

All

12:20 to 1:00 pm Lunch (provided) Niagara Room 1:00 to 1:25 pm Discussion Topic 3: Biosolids and Wastewater

– Moving to the Next Steps

With new wastewater regs, impending biosolids regs and moves towards increasing reuse (including “beneficial use”)/nutrient and energy capture and focus on receiving water protection – where to focus?

Kickoff talk for discussion –Susheel Arora (Halifax Water), with comments by Ted Robbins (CRD, Victoria)

1:25 to 2:10 pm Group Discussion of Key Interests in Topic Area – What are the discussions that need to be had that aren’t happening?

All

2:10 to 2:35 pm Discussion Topic 4: Lead and Drinking Water Contaminants of Concern – Balancing Public

Kick-off talk for discussion – Lou Di Gironimo (Toronto Water)

Concerns with Current/Emerging Science?

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Managing lead in service lines and corrosion and quality issues in distribution systems –what are the big issues being dealt with?

2:35 to 3:20 pm Group Discussion of Key Interests in Topic Area. What are the discussions that need to be had that aren’t happening?

3:20 to 3:40 pm Coffee Break 3:40 to 4:20 pm Synthesis Session and Ranking by Participants

of Key Issues of Value for CMWC approach B. Conant/G. Farquhar and CWN Staff

4:20 to 4:30 pm Wrap Up and Next Steps for CMWC 5:00 pm Reception 6:00-9:00 pm Dinner

Reception and Dinner (provided) Sapphire and Turquoise Room

Canadian Water Network200 University Avenue West

Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1(519) 888-4567, ext. 36367

Fax: (519) 883-7574www.cwn-rce.ca