Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association

1. Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association Ken Graham, OMWA Board Member Councillor, Town of Smith Falls Thursday, April 28, 2011 Photo by: Andreas Achleitner

2. Ontario Municipal Water Association, (OMWA) • OMWA was formed in 1967 and has 190 municipal members across the province, serving over 7 million customers. • Board of Directors provides direction and leadership on policy, legislative and regulatory issues related to the provision of safe, sustainable drinking water. • OMWA became a member of NOMA in 2010.

3. Four Areas of Importance to our Members • Private Members Bill 13, Sustainable Water & Wastewater System Improvements and Maintenance Act 2010 • Bill 72 – Water Opportunities and Water Conservation Act, 2010 • Taking Care of Your Drinking Water – A Guide for Members of Municipal Councils • Recruiting New Staff for municipal water operations

4. Private Members Bill 13, Sustainable Water & Wastewater System Improvements and Maintenance Act 2010 • Originally the Watertight Report, which became, Private Members Bill 237 and is now Bill 13. • Requires a minimum of 10,000 customers for the water operation for cost savings and efficiencies. • This would mean combining a number of municipal operations, which would be difficult in the south, and the north would be almost impossible. • Bill 13, also proposed setting up a water board to regulate rates and to take the financial decision making for water investments away from Municipal Council’s.

5. Private Members Bill 13, Sustainable Water & Wastewater System Improvements and Maintenance Act 2010, cont’d • OMWA strongly opposed Bill 13. • We have been assured that it will not be passed into law by the current government.

6. Bill 72 – Water Opportunities and Water Conservation Act, 2010 • Received Royal Accent on November 29, 2010 • OMWA has petitioned the government to ensure that publicly owned water systems not be privatized • OMWA’s recommendations were: • Include on the board of directors of the Water Technology Acceleration Project, representatives from all participants in the sectors, including municipal governments. • Ensure when setting targets for water conservation that the government consider the variance in size and geographical locations of municipalities. The “one size fits all” approach places significant burden on municipalities.

7. Bill 72 – Water Opportunities and Water Conservation Act, 2010, cont’d • Develop a stable funding source for smaller systems; in keeping with Recommendation 84 of the O’Connor Report. • While advocating full cost pricing for water, the OMWA recognizes that smaller and/or remote systems, will continue to need a stable funding system to continue to operate. • For many of these systems, amalgamating with others is not an option. • Monies collected through water rates only be used for water infrastructure and operations.

8. Taking Care of Your Drinking Water – A Guide for Members of Municipal Councils • For a copy of the OMWA submission go to the website at www.omwa.org • Go to Newsroom and click on: Comments-Bill 72 Water Opportunities Act. Taking Care of Your Drinking Water – A Guide for Members of Municipal Councils • Section 19 of the Safe Drinking Water Act will be put into law in 2013. • In 2004, OMWA prepared a handbook entitled Ontario Drinking Water Stewardship Responsibilities for Councillors and Municipal Officials.

9. Taking Care of Your Drinking Water – A Guide for Members of Municipal Councils, cont’d • The Ministry of the Environment formed an advisory Group consisting of Mayors and Councillors from across Ontario, OMWA, AMO and WCWC. • The Northern Ontario Representatives were Councillor Rebecca Johnson of Thunder Bay, Councillor Andre Rivest from the City of Greater Sudbury, former Mayor Michael Power from Greenstone. Also involved was our OMWA Executive Director Doug Parker, myself Ken Graham and as well there was staff from the Walkerton Clean Water Centre, Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Ministry of the Environment. • A new easy to understand guide was prepared and electronically sent to each of our member municipalities. • For a copy of the new guide go to www.omwa.org and go to Newsroom and click on Drinking Water Guide for Councillors.

10. Taking Care of Your Drinking Water – A Guide for Members of Municipal Councils, cont’d • Walkerton Clean Water Centre has put together a three hour training program and is offering it at locations across the province. • Currently sessions for Northern Ontario are scheduled for: • Tuesday, May 10th, 2011, in Cochrane • Wednesday, May 11th, 2011, in Timmins • Training sessions for your municipality can be scheduled by contacting: • Brian Jobb, Walkerton Clean Water Centre: brian.jobb@wcwc.ca

11. Recruiting Staff for Municipal Water Operations • Recruiting qualified operators has become very difficult. • A long term strategy needed to be established to promote careers in the water and wastewater sectors. • A video was created that is geared towards high school students. • In the process of developing a website along with our partners, Ontario Water Works Association, the Water Environment Association of Ontario, the Walkerton Clean Water Centre, and the Ministry of the Environment. • Website should be operational by the end of June 2011. • OMWA awards four $500.00 annual bursaries to students in community colleges who are taking water related courses.

12. Closing • OMWA is proud of its 44 year history. • Key contributor to the Walkerton Inquiry. • Strong working relationships with: Ontario Water Works Association, the Walkerton Clean Water Centre, and the Province of Ontario. • Work closely with the Water Environment Association of Ontario, and the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association. • Membership information can be obtained from Doug Parker, or myself.