This report describes the results of the Phase 1 feasibility study, undertaken to find out what information is collected by governments and other entities on water and wastewater infrastructure capacity and environmental constraints.
There are three important limits to this feasibility phase:
- The data scan was limited to existing data sources, to maximize the usage of available information and to avoid triggering a lengthy and expensive exercise proposing new forms or methods of data collection.
- The study is restricted to water and wastewater servicing only; stormwater management and other forms of infrastructure are not included at this stage, although stormwater is a necessary and important part of the full picture of water infrastructure in the region.
- The water and wastewater facilities of greatest interest are those that draw water from or release effluent to water bodies other than the Great Lakes (referred to in this report as "inland" water systems).[1]
The data scan and inventory drew on a search of government and other websites, interviews with more than a dozen informants representing different data sources at the municipal, provincial, federal, and conservation authority levels, and a workshop with more than a dozen participants from provincial government ministries and conservation authorities, who provided feedback on the results of initial data scan.
The results of the feasibility study are framed in the context of the near- and long-term data products and tools that can be used to inform growth allocations.
[1] Although concerns with water quality remain in some parts of the Great Lakes and capacity at water or wastewater treatment plants on the Great Lakes may in some cases be limited, in general, water quantity and assimilative capacity in the Great Lakes are not considered constrained because of the Great Lakes' size; the Lakes are thus less vulnerable to the effects of climate change.