Regional councillors heard a startling presentation at Thursday's committee-of-the-whole meeting, learning that there is a backlog of a staggering $680 million in overdue investment in water and wastewater assets and infrastructure — a situation St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe called “terrifying.”
Information delivered by public works commissioner Terry Ricketts was followed by questions and comments from councillors resulting in a discussion that lasted more than two hours.
With budget discussions beginning next week, Ricketts told regional councillors that an annual increase of 7.22 per cent on regional taxes over the next 10 years for infrastructure improvements alone will be the means of addressing the problem, brought on by aging facilities.
“What struck me over the past year is that there is a gap between the perception of the status of water and wastewater service, and the reality of the state of our infrastructure,” Ricketts told councillors.
Niagara Region has significantly more vertical infrastructure — defined as anything from acquisition and construction, major renovations and major repair of buildings, utilities, site development and recreation trails — than its comparators such as York and Waterloo, as well as a smaller population, resulting in a heavier per-capita burden.
However, Ricketts was focusing on water and waste water, and said 44 per cent of the Region’s water assets are in poor or very poor condition, and 49 per cent of wastewater infrastructure is classified the same.
One glaring piece of information is that the Decew Falls water plant is 99 years old and is behind on improvements by $195 million.
The plant in Niagara Falls, which serves parts of Niagara-on-the-Lake, is 94 years old and requires $43 million in upgrades.
Welland’s water plant also has a $44-million backlog, a facility built 113 years ago.
Ricketts said “public safety is not at risk,” but that the Region needs to take action and make major investments in the coming years to avoid system failure.
“The risk of service interruption is certainly growing,” she warned, adding that the Region needs to move away from “chronic underinvestment that accelerates disrepair.”
She compared the situation to someone not taking proper care of their vehicle.
“If you don’t replace the oil in your car, it’s only a matter of time before you blow out the engine,” she said.
“Running assets to failure is the most expensive way to operate,” she added.
Ricketts said about 80 per cent of the staff whose job is in water and wastewater is currently assigned to urgent and reactive repairs.
Some sites still function with wooden paddles and leather belts.
“It’s amazing, as an engineer, those sites are still operating,” she said.
The Region is currently spending 20.7 per cent of what it should be on wastewater, 49.2 per cent of what she said should be invested in water.
A recent breakdown of Calgary’s water system was on the mind of St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe, who thanked Ricketts for “terrifying everybody in the room” with her presentation.
Siscoe asked if there is a silver lining, considering a piece of information that the Region has more infrastructure than others its size.
Ricketts said the only silver lining she can think of is that the Region has a "clear picture of where we stand now while we still have runway to do something about it,” adding that the reason there is an abundance of plants and pumping stations is because of much of it was put in place in the lower-tier municipalities before they were amalgamated as one region.
Fielding a question from Siscoe about the Decew Falls site, associate director of water operations John Brunet said its backlog is so high because it is essentially the size of three facilities in one.
Ricketts’ presentation said the current rate set by Niagara Region to provide regional water and wastewater services is two dollars per day per household, which is “significantly lower than comparative municipalities.”
By comparison, an annual increase in contribution to capital of 7.22 per cent would increase customer cost by $0.14 per day, or $4.44 per month per household in infrastructure.
Pelham Regional Coun. Diana Huson said it’s time to take action.
“We can’t continue to keep managing our assets in this way,” said Huson. “I don’t see how we cannot make the necessary investment here.”
Chair Jim Bradley made a remark that members of previous councils have “bragged” about not increasing taxes.
“Now, we see what happens as a result,” he said, before cutting himself off as he should not be making comments as chair.
Niagara-on-the-Lake Regional Coun. Andrea Kaiser said when the Region communicates with the public about this matter and the likelihood that taxes will be going up, she said that communications plan should include a message similar to the one shared by Bradley.
“I am entirely comfortable with that message going out publicly – that where we are today is a result of the great service previous councils did,” said Kaiser.
“I have no problem with saying that out loud,” she added.
The Region is also in the midst of trying to secure funding from upper levels of government to build a new $400-million wastewater plant in Niagara Falls, the costliest capital project to have ever been taken on by the Region.
Ricketts said needed funding from the federal and provincial governments to support the project has yet to be confirmed.
The next steps moving ahead, according to Ricketts, are recommending responsible capital contributions and prioritizing funds to address high-risk assets, while also balancing growth and asset renewal investment.
Strategies and assessments need to be developed, as does advocacy to upper levels of government for funding partnerships.
Work to start addressing this more-than-$600 million gap will be brought forward in 2025 budget deliberations, said her presentation.
