Stormwater

Rated: Good

Municipal stormwater infrastructure is essential to managing the impact of sudden and heavy rainfall or the gradual melting of snow and ice come springtime.

The stormwater infrastructure assets in our survey included linear stormwater collection systems (i.e., storm water collection pipes, open ditches and culverts less than three meters in diameter) and non-linear assets (i.e., stormwater drainage pump stations; stormwater management facilities, including stormwater management ponds, storm water wetlands and all other permitted end-of-pipe-facilities).

The current state

Approximately 40-60% of stormwater infrastructure is in good or very good condition. We don’t know the condition of a large portion of stormwater assets because historically, collecting data about their condition was a low-priority activity.

Stormwater management assets were largely built in the last 20 years, and there is a growing focus on understanding their future rehabilitation/replacement needs.

The state of stormwater infrastructure is particularly critical given the impact of climate change. Jurisdictions across Canada are experiencing longer and more intense precipitation events. This has highlighted capacity issues in stormwater infrastructure that go above and beyond the need to rehabilitate existing assets.

We assessed these assets using a defined scale and their age profile.

• Sewers and culverts have an ESL of 70-100 years depending on the material.
• Vertical facilities have an ESL of 50-80 years for structural components, 25 years for mechanical and electrical components.
• ESL of new types of stormwater management facilities is still TBD by the industry.

Stormwater by the numbers