Local government | May 20, 2015
Mississauga Council reviewed plans for bringing a new City stormwater charge into effect at today’s General Committee meeting. The charge will help reduce the risk of flooding, protect water quality and will appear on the Region of Peel water bill starting in January 2016.
“Having a dedicated and fair stormwater charge is the right thing to do,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “It will fund the City’s stormwater program and minimize risks to people, properties and the environment.” She added: “Mississauga is a growing city with aging infrastructure. Staff have done the research and spoken to staff in other municipalities that have similar programs. We are looking at the best solution for Mississauga.”
City Manager and CAO Janice Baker explained: “Stormwater management is a big ticket item for a large urban city the size of Mississauga. The City owns $1.8 billion in stormwater infrastructure that needs to be properly maintained. With heavier rainfalls, more people living here and more businesses operating here, the amount of stormwater running off hard surfaces such as roofs and parking lots is increasing.”
Baker added the charge is fair because it’s based on the amount of hard surface on a property – the less hard surface, the less water runoff that goes into our system, the less the property owner will pay. “Today, there is more stormwater entering our system than ever before and it’s causing costly wear and tear on our already aging infrastructure,” said Baker. “Dedicated funding is the responsible way to maintain our system today; it also means that we will have funds to draw on if emergency repairs are needed.”
Approval of the policies related to the charge is set for the May 27 Council meeting agenda.
What the new charge means to property owners
To learn more about the charge and how it will work, visit www.stormwatercharge.ca
Stormwater Financing Study
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