WC148 MayJune 2026 - Magazine - Page 14
DRINKING WATER
It is worth questioning whether
changing a utility’s governance
structure is, in itself, a solution.
the entire water system. In the absence of a clearly accountable
executive, important decisions were deferred and not escalated
for many years.
While efficiencies can be gained by consolidating engineering
or capital delivery across services like water, waste management,
and transportation, those efficiencies must never come at the
expense of a clear, direct line of responsibility for the delivery
of water and wastewater services. Unlike any other local service,
the health of millions of people directly depends on urban water
systems being operated safely every moment of the day and
maintained in a state of good repair and replaced over time.
Both the Panel and Ontario’s Water and Wastewater Public
Corporations Act call for a separate legal entity responsible
for water and wastewater services, with the head of that entity
directly responsible for the entire system. This offers one way of
strengthening direct responsibility. It is important to note, however, that direct lines of responsibility can — and in many cases
already do — exist within municipal structures through directors
or general managers of water services.
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Guardrail 2: Accountability
“The absence of clear lines of accountability… contributed to the
risk and asset integrity process gaps.”— Bearspaw South Feedermain Independent Review Panel: Final Report (page 20)
The Panel identified deficiencies in financial accountability.
This includes the lack of ringfencing of water rate revenues
that allowed Council to zero-rate rate increases for a number of years, without a full appreciation of the implications
on deferred investment in the water system. This is a critical
element of accountability that should be addressed by any and
all utility structures.
There is another level of accountability that was not explicitly addressed by the Panel: accountability to the public.
Establishing and maintaining public trust is the ultimate test
of any public governance system. The Panel’s call for a service
corporation to be fully owned by the City of Calgary would
ensure that strong public accountability is preserved under the
proposed model.
Ontario’s Water and Wastewater Public Corporations
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
Getty Images
E昀昀ective governance of drinking water service delivery can be achieved through a range of governance models, but what matters most is that these models are
underpinned by strong guardrails.
