ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

General Manager of Engineering Services

SUBJECT:

National Guide to Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Engineering Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.

COUNCIL POLICY

In February 1998, Council approved that the City of Vancouver support the preparation of a National Technical Guide for Urban Infrastructure, subject to reporting back and approval of suitable cost-sharing arrangements.

PURPOSE

This report provides Council with additional information on the National Guide to Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure, so that Vancouver may join the growing group of municipalities demonstrating their leadership and commitment to collaborative infrastructure solutions through formal support for the Guide.

BACKGROUND

Municipalities today are struggling with maintaining and renewing their infrastructure, primarily because it is ageing and decaying at a faster rate than it is being renewed. In 1984, the City of Vancouver took a lead role in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' (FCM) National Task Force on Municipal Infrastructure. The study found that $12 billion must be invested nationwide to upgrade roads, bridges, water and sewer works to an acceptable level. In 1985 Council endorsed the conclusions and recommendations of the FCM study, which included establishing intergovernmental partnerships; providing greater exchange of information between municipalities and setting service standards for municipalities. That same year, a follow up study by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities and the City indicated that $1 billion was required to upgrade municipal infrastructure in British Columbia (BC) alone.

The identified challenges and subsequent studies on municipal infrastructure have lead to the development and composition of the Guide:

· In 1991 a group of practitioners at a Montreal conference on Urban Infrastructure established the concept of a municipal infrastructure guide, to be lead by the FCM and the National Research Council (NRC).
· In 1993 and 1994 the project was further defined after extensive collaborations involving municipal decision makers and public and private infrastructure stakeholders, where over 500 individuals were consulted. Initially, the project was defined as a National Technical Guide for Urban Infrastructure. Yet as the project progressed it was redefined as a National Guide to Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure, to reflect the desire by communities to include both technical and decision making best practices in the Guide.
· In 1998 two National Workshops were held to further refine and develop the goals, objectives and governance structure of the Guide.
· Through 2001/02 the first round of best practices were developed by technical committees composed of volunteers; and were reviewed and revised by stakeholders prior to publication. See Appendix A for a list of best practices completed thus far. (Also, for more information: http://www.infraguide.c/involved.html)

DISCUSSION

The Guide is designed to help municipalities identify infrastructure needs, evaluate solutions, extend the service life of existing infrastructure and maximize return on investments. It provides a compendium of best practices, illustrated in two parts:

· Part A provides decision making and investment planning best practices, which also focus on environmental sustainability issues. This sectionintroduces the scope, purpose, limitations, jurisdictions and regulations of each infrastructure issue.
· Part B provides technical best practices that offer information on the best available technologies and methods of each infrastructure issue.

The best practices will be consistently reviewed to ensure they can respond to the demographic, financial and environmental needs of municipalities. Overall, the Guide provides a number of benefits. In the short-term the Guide's state of the art methodologies and technologies for municipal infrastructure will:

· Improve decision making processes, enabling municipalities to perform the right job, at the right time.
· Establish minimum standards for the construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure systems to help ensure that an acceptable level of performance is attained.
· Provide an integrated approach to bring together the best techniques and lessons learned from various public and private organizations.

In the long term, estimations by the FCM indicate utilization of the Guide's best practices could cut infrastructure maintenance costs by $800 million to $1.5 billion annually. Furthermore, the Guide intends to:

· Lead municipalities to an improved level of inter-provincial and inter-municipal trade.
· Enhance the ability of manufacturers in BC to compete globally and facilitate a better positioning of Canadian industry in North America.
· Lead to an improved quality of life for all Canadians.

The development, composition, and review of the Guide is lead by a Project Steering Committee (PSC) composed of senior managers and elected municipal officials from across Canada. Dave Rudberg, General Manager of Engineering Services sits on the PSC committee. The Technical Steering Committee (TSC) reports to the PSC and oversees and integrates the work of the Technical Committees that are tasked with developing the best practices of various service areas. Don Brynildsen, Assistant City Engineer, Streets, serves on the TSC and is Vice Chair of the Municipal Roads and Sidewalks Technical Committee. Also, Brian Crowe, Project Engineer, and Susan Clift, Waterworks Engineer, have both participated in the Guide's Technical Working Groups.

The total cost for the development of the Guide over the first five years is estimated at $25,700,000. Funding for the Guide has primarily come from three sources: the Infrastructure Canada Program, the National Research Council and in-kind contributions from volunteer stakeholders. However as the Guide continues to grow and develop, long-term sustainability will increasingly become an important issue. Thus, project leaders willbe turning to the provinces for financial and in-kind support in the near future. Throughout its development, the Guide has been supported by the Canadian and British Columbia Public Works Associations and by Municipal Engineers in the Vancouver region. So far, more than a dozen municipalities across Canada have formally adopted the Guide.

NEXT STEPS

The Guide's best practices provide opportunities to improve the City's decision making processes, maintenance and repair of its infrastructure. City staff should review the best practices relative to current work processes and local social, economic and environmental conditions. Appropriate changes should then be implemented when and where it is necessary to do so.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

The Guide is intended to help municipal practitioners maintain and improve municipal infrastructure while at the same time protect the environment. Thus, an Environmental Protocols Committee has been established to ensure the Guide's best practices also focus on environmental protocols, which are often adopted by municipalities to protect the health of citizens, the environment and the economy. Representatives from the Environmental Committee also sit on other technical committees to ensure environmental implications are always considered.

The best practices on environmental protocols help municipalities identify local environmental conditions, challenges and opportunities regarding their infrastructure; and also provide information on the experiences of municipalities across Canada and abroad, that have undertaken environmental action.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

There may be increased costs to the City in the short term from implementing the Guide's decision making and technical best practices. However in the long term, it is expected that costs will be reduced and the overall life expectancy of the City's infrastructure will increase from incorporating the decision making and technical best practices.

CONCLUSION

This report has provided Council with additional information on the Guide, so that Vancouver may join the growing group of municipalities demonstrating their leadership and commitment to collaborative infrastructure solutions, through formal support for the Guide.

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APPENDIX A

Best Practices

The following lists the 30 best practice titles, which are at various stages of development. The Best Practices Published are available electronically or in hard copy in their final form. The Best Practices Stakeholder Review Complete are still at the draft stage but have progressed to the point of review and comment from peers and the infrastructure practitioners. The Best Practices Under Development are at earlier stages of development where the working groups, assisted by consultants, are preparing the documents.

Best Practices Published:
· Deterioration and Inspection of Water Distribution Systems
· Timely Preventive Maintenance of Municipal Roads
· The Construction of Utility Boxes in Pavements
· The Restoration and Repair of Utility Boxes in Pavements
· Planning and Defining Municipal Infrastructure Needs
· Alternate Funding Mechanisms
· Developing Levels of Service
· Developing Indicators and benchmarks
· Guidelines for Sealing and Filling Cracks in Asphalt Concrete Pavements

Best Practices Stakeholder Review Complete:
· Water Use and Loss in the Water Distribution System
· Selection of Technologies for the Rehabilitation or Replacement of a Water Distribution Systems
· Selection of Technologies for Sewer Rehabilitation and Replacement
· Inflow/Infiltration Control/Reduction for Wasterwater Collection Systems
· Wastewater Source Control
· Source and On-Site Control for Municipal Drainage Systems
· Best Practice for Utility Based Data
· Developing a Water Distribution Renewal Plan
· Rut Mitigation Techniques at Intersections

Best Practices Under Development:
· Water Quality in the Distribution System
· Establishing a Metering Plan to Account for Water Use and Loss
· Decision Making Criteria for Repair and Rehab on Pavements
· Maintenance Procedures for Road Drainage
· Optimization of Wastewater Treatment Plants
· Bio-Solids Management
· Corporate Environmental Commitment and Policy
· Environmental Impact Assessment - Carrying Capamunicipality
· Environmental Cost Benefits
· Integration of Renewal Activities
· Application for Investment Parameter in Support of Municipal Infrastructure Reinvestments
· Inspection, Condition Assessment and Evaluation of the Water Distribution, Sewer Collection and Road Networks

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© 2002 City of Vancouver