Region of Waterloo Water and…

Region of Waterloo Water and Wastewater Services Comments:

ERO number 026-0302 proposes amendments to the Municipal Act, 2001 and the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002 to create a provincial regulatory framework for municipal consent for non municipal communal drinking water systems and wastewater systems (e.g. privately owned systems serving subdivisions or multi unit developments).
The regulatory framework would encourage non municipal communal drinking water systems and wastewater systems to support housing where municipal servicing is seen as a constraint. If future provincial regulations set prescribed criteria, municipalities would be required to grant consent where those criteria are met. Criteria and conditions will require careful consideration to protect local discretion in integrated drinking water planning and protect water resources.

--Support for a more structured approach to approving communal systems while maintaining the standard as integrated, municipally owned solutions

The Region of Waterloo supports the province’s efforts to introduce greater structure and consistency to the approval process for communal water and wastewater systems. Currently, the Region’s primary authority is exercised through subdivision review under Municipal Responsibility Agreements. The proposed changes provide a framework that, if adequately designed, would set clearer expectations and define criteria on the planning and implementation of communal systems.

At the same time, the Region’s preference remains for integrated, municipally owned water and wastewater servicing solutions. Centralized systems allow for coordinated infrastructure planning, responsible scaling, and more efficient long-term service delivery. While the proposed framework offers improved management when communal systems are appropriate, it should not inadvertently create opportunities for such systems where integrated municipal servicing is feasible.

--Recommendation for local discretion in withholding consent to protect groundwater resources

The Region emphasizes the importance of maintaining appropriate municipal discretion to address local hydrogeological conditions, cumulative impacts, water quality and quantity concerns, and climate-related vulnerabilities. Regulations would benefit from explicitly recognizing municipal authority to withhold consent where source water protection risks cannot be appropriately mitigated.

Communal systems will require a more cautious, site-specific evaluation in vulnerable areas including those characterized by shallow groundwater, highly vulnerable aquifers, significant recharge areas, water stress, or known drinking water threats. In these areas, the Region discourages using automatic consent for communal systems. In addition to conditions and criteria where automatic consent is granted, a list of anti-requisites would provide additional clarity for whether consent will be granted for communal systems.

--Feedback on criteria and conditions

The introduction of prescribed criteria and conditions under the Municipal Act is a vital component of the proposed framework and is strongly supported. These criteria will play a critical role in ensuring that communal systems are financially, operationally, and environmentally sustainable over the long term. Based on Regional experience of assuming responsibility and ownership of several drinking water and wastewater communal systems, it is essential that these requirements are robust and enforceable.
In particular, the Region emphasizes the importance of criteria and conditions that address:

• Conformance with local municipal and regional design guidelines and asset management standards

• Any framework requiring municipal consent for non-municipal communal drinking water systems and wastewater systems must explicitly require consistency with approved Source Protection Plans under the Clean Water Act, 2006.
o Proposed systems within wellhead protection areas or intake protection zones must be fully evaluated against approved source protection policies, including prohibitions, risk management measures, and land use planning policies. This requirement should be clearly embedded in regulation and not left to municipal interpretation, which may overlook established source protection safeguards.
o The proposed consent framework should also be formally integrated with existing municipal processes, including source protection screening, and Risk Management Official review where applicable.
o Source protection principles should apply to communal drinking water systems to protect community members using the systems, surrounding water resources that face increased contamination concerns, and municipal interests if communal systems are transferred to municipal ownership. This should include, but not be limited to, delineation of wellhead protection areas and the management of drinking water threats.

• Integration with long-term infrastructure and servicing strategies, including:
o Confirmation that feasible municipal servicing is not available
o To avoid the uptake of uncoordinated or an excessive number of communal systems, the Region recommends that the Province consider procedures to limit the use of communal systems, such as establishing size or scale thresholds, or requiring demonstration that communal systems represent the optimal long-term servicing solution. Without such measures, there is a risk that multiple smaller systems may emerge in place of more efficient, consolidated infrastructure.

• Lifecycle financial planning, including the establishment of adequate reserve funds
o Regarding source water protection, where consent is granted, regulations should require robust financial assurances, reserve funds, and clear accountability frameworks to protect groundwater and surface water sources over the full lifecycle of the system

• Monitoring, reporting, and operational performance requirements

--Recommendation to clarify municipal roles for establishing criteria and conditions and providing municipal consent for two-tier municipalities

The Region recommends that the municipality providing consent and establishing or approving the applicable criteria and conditions to be directly linked to the municipality that will ultimately assume ownership of the system. This alignment ensures that the approving authority is appropriately managing long-term risks and obligations as well as protecting surrounding water resources. For example, the Region of Waterloo is responsible for providing drinking water and wastewater treatment, and must have a role in establishing conditions and criteria to ensure their system and organization are not put at risk (financial, environmental, public health, etc.) by the establishment of a communal system.
This issue is particularly important in two-tier municipal systems. Responsibilities for drinking water and wastewater treatment and for distribution and collection infrastructure may differ between upper-tier and lower-tier municipalities. In some cases, the Region may ultimately assume ownership of both treatment and conveyance infrastructure, as has occurred historically. The framework should clearly define roles, responsibilities, and transition processes in these contexts to avoid ambiguity and future risk.

--Clarification on the enforcement of conditions and the transfer of ownership

The Region seeks clarification regarding the process by which communal systems are transferred to municipal ownership, including the role of the Province in facilitating or requiring such transitions. Clear direction is needed on which municipality assumes responsibility and under what conditions.

From an implementation perspective, additional guidance is recommended regarding the administration and enforcement of prescribed criteria and conditions. If municipalities are expected to verify compliance, this may have resource and operational implications.

On behalf of the Region of Waterloo, thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the province’s proposal to create a provincial regulatory framework for municipal consent for non-municipal communal drinking water systems and wastewater systems.