[ operations & maintenance ]
WORN OUT Ontario’s civic building inventory has fallen the farthest behind on capital repair and renewal among seven categories of municipal infrastructure assets scrutinized in a report from the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO).
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he analysis, which is part of the FAO’s efforts to identify vulnerabilities to climate change hazards, concludes that about 55 per cent of total municipal infrastructure is in a state of good repair, but fewer than 42 per cent of the assets in the “other buildings and facilities” category merit that rating. That encompasses a varied roster of social housing, government administrative buildings, cultural/recreational/sports venues and solid waste handling facilities, with a current replacement value (CRV) pegged at nearly $75 billion. These assets represent about 15 per cent of the total value of locally held infrastructure throughout the province. Additionally, many large buildings such as transit terminals, water and wastewater treatment plants are itemized in other infrastructure asset categories. The FAO estimates the current replacement value of all of
Ontario’s municipal infrastructure at approximately $484 billion. Roads represent the largest share at that tally, at $130 billion or 27 per cent of CRV, followed by wastewater infrastructure (20 per cent) and potable water infrastructure (17 per cent). Transit accounts for the smallest portion — 2 per cent — of infrastructure value. However, nearly 30 per cent or $1.8 billion worth of assets in this category are identified as “buildingtype” structures, including commuter stations, route-side shelters, garages and other maintenance/storage depots. Within the buildings/facilities category, approximately 122,770 social housing units are valued at more than $23 billion. Administrative headquarters and cultural/recreational/sports venues each carry a CRV of more than $19 billion, with the remaining assortment of buildings for justice, health, social services or solid waste management purposes estimated at $13 billion.
Reflective of broad-based municipal responsibilities, building/facility assets include 1,332 community centres, 813 libraries, 382 museums and archives, 76 galleries, 184 materials recovery facilities, 129 composting facilities and 18 anaerobic digestion facilities. Meanwhile, illustrative of the ongoing challenge to manage solid waste and resultant greenhouse gas emissions, Ontario municipalities currently own 242 dump sites, 181 active engineered landfills and 625 inactive engineered landfills and dumps, which are also tallied in this category. INCONSISTENT DATA
Province-wide, the FAO concludes there is a $52-billion backlog of required spending, based on 2020 costs for bringing assets to a state of good repair. That presumption is drawn from multiple sources: municipally supplied data and/or local asset management plans (AMPs) where available; Statistics Canada’s Canadian Core Public Infrastructure (CCPI) survey; the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs’ Financial Information Return (FIR); and the Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure’s Municipal Asset Inventory. FAO researchers then derived their own scale to support more consistent
ACCOLADES FOR VANCOUVER’S LEGIONELLA PROGRAM The City of Vancouver, along with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), has received the 2021 Innovation Award for Legionella prevention from the Environmental Operators Certification Program (EOCP). The EOCP is responsible for certifying the thousands of water and wastewater operators across B.C. and the Yukon. Over the last year in Vancouver, half a dozen instances of high Legionella concentrations in building mechanical systems were detected and immediately remediated. In each instance, VCH was notified and used
this information to verify they were not linked to any lab-confirmed illness. Vancouver’s Water System Operating Permit Program helps protect the public from waterborne health risks like Legionella. These operating permits also help health authorities and city staff to rapidly identify and respond to incidents of concern. Since the program’s launch, it has gained much support from both building owners and the tourism industry with more than 1,100 systems registered. Equipment owners are required to complete regular water quality
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testing and reporting, and obtain a water systems operating permit for the following systems: cooling towers; decorative water features; rainwater harvesting and other alternative water systems; and building water treatment systems. Recognized by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network as a leader in Legionella prevention, the city has been contacted by jurisdictions across North America for guidance on responding to and preventing outbreaks.
