On July 22, 2005, Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal, David Caplan, announced the release of the Water Strategy Expert Panel’s report, “Watertight: the Case for Change in Ontario’s Water and Wastewater Sector.”

• McGuinty Government Introduces Clean Water Act [News Release: Ministry of the Environment]
• The Proposed Clean Water Act [Backgrounder: Ministry of the Environment]
• Support for Ontario's Proposed Clean Water Act [Backgrounder: Ministry of the Environment]
• Bill 43: Clean Water Act
• Video Clip

  Panel Chair Dr. Harry Smith (centre), with fellow Panel members Fred Lazar (left), Associate Professor of Economics at York University, and Jim Pine (right), Chief Administrative Officer, County of Hastings. [Video Clip]

The government recognizes that a long-term infrastructure investment and financing strategy is needed to ensure that Ontario’s water systems are financially sustainable and that water rates are affordable. The Panel estimates that $34 billion in investments is needed over the next 15 years in our water and wastewater systems.

The Panel was mandated to recommend the best way to organize and deliver water and wastewater services to achieve these objectives, while ensuring continued public ownership of these systems.

The Panel’s report provides recommendations on the future organization, governance, investment needs, pricing and financing of the province’s water and wastewater systems.

The McGuinty government is committed to ensuring that all of Ontario’s drinking water systems provide clean, safe and affordable water to protect public health, and to the protection of Ontario’s drinking water in accordance with Justice O’Connor’s recommendations in the Walkerton Commission of Inquiry

• WATERTIGHT: The case for change in Ontario's water and wastewater sector (PDF: 3.9MB)
• News Release - Government Receives Water Panel Report
• Expert Panel Calls for Major Reforms to Ontario's Water Systems [News Release: Water Strategy Expert Panel]
• Long-term Investment and Financing Strategy for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure [Backgrounder: Water Strategy Expert Panel]
• Report Recommendations
  
  

Deteriorating cast-iron water pipes -- similar to those still in use in some Ontario municipalities.

Background information

For more information on the modeling work underlying the Expert Panel’s report, click on the links below.

• Water and Wastewater Asset Cost Study
  (PDF)
• Ontario Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Modeling Methodology
  (PDF)
  

For more information on water and wastewater, visit the Ministry of Environment and the Water Strategy Expert Panel.