WC128 JanFeb2023 - Magazine - Page 31
CAPITAL DELIVERY COSTS
Municipalities are struggling to keep to the scheduled implementation of their
capital plans. As we head into a recession, municipalities are experiencing
limited capacity to deliver capital projects and this is prompting some leaders to
re-evaluate how to finance and deliver their capital plans.
“We simply can’t deliver what is being asked of us within the current utility
decision-making model,” says Marie-France Witty, director of strategy and
performance in the City of Montreal’s water department. “We must change the
way we make decisions, given high operational costs, inflation, the magnitude of
infrastructure projects, and tight budgets.”
The scope and the price of current capital projects reflect
their increased complexity and the greater uncertainties involved
As we head into
compared to 50 years ago. This is running up against citizens’ ability
a recession, high
to pay. Leaders are interested in exploring different decisioninflation, high
making models, financial tools, and increased citizen involvement.
interest rates
Part of what municipalities can consider is rethinking how
and supply chain
procurement is undertaken. Canadian municipal leaders heard
issues are limitfrom Aarhus Vand, the water utility serving the City of Aarhus
ing the capacity
in Denmark, at a Leaders Roundtable recently hosted by CWN.
of municipalities
Aarhus Vand staff shared information about their reimagined
to deliver capital
procurement approach. Rethinking traditional procurement may
projects.
provide innovative solutions to implementing major infrastructure
projects in a way that shares risk more equitably.
RECONCILIATION WITH
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
There is also an interest in increasing community
engagement, particularly as it relates to
reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. “We
are engaging closely with the Tsleil-Waututh
First Nation and other local First Nations in our
work,” says Jimmy Zammar, director of the urban
watersheds, sewers and drainage division at
the City of Vancouver. “Partners are watching
what water commitments and rights are being
acknowledged by the city.”
In October 2022, with recommendations
from a task force led by local First Nations
communities, Vancouver City Council passed the
City of Vancouver’s United Nations Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Strategy.
The strategy includes acknowledgement of
specific water commitments and rights.
“Indigenous communities want to know what’s
happening and have rights to be consulted,
which is a learning curve for project managers,”
adds John Presta, commissioner of works for
The Regional Municipality of Durham. “We are
working to develop an umbrella agreement with
the local Indigenous communities.”
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
What’s in store for 2023?
As municipalities and utilities work to serve their communities
today and to achieve the strategic goals of tomorrow, leaders
are exploring innovative ways of overcoming post-COVID
challenges. Demand for affordable and equitable rate structures
will continue to be present, along with an increasing need to
engage communities with lived experience in decision-making
processes. The anticipated recession will exacerbate already high
capital costs, putting pressure on capital project delivery. Finally,
municipalities are struggling to recruit and retain staff amongst
competing industries.
Looking ahead into 2023, CWN is committed to supporting
municipalities and utility leaders as they work to address their
shared challenges. CWN is currently bringing them together
through strategic sharing groups on topics like affordability and
accelerating net-zero actions in municipal water management.
We have also scheduled the 2023 Blue Cities conference on October 23-25 in Toronto, which will discuss trends and challenges
identified by municipal and utility leaders.
CWN is an independent non-profit with a mandate to help communities
achieve a resilient, equitable and healthy future through water. Through
our Canadian Municipal Water Consortium, we convene water utility
leaders who share a common goal of advan cing excellence in municipal
water management. For more information about the Consortium, visit
www.cwn-rce.ca
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