Metro Vancouver Reference Panel raises questions about ISMP process and outcomes to date

The Elephant in the Room

The LWMP spotlight has been on sewage treatment because it is a $1.4 billion cost item. Affordability has emerged as a dominant issue because Metro Vancouver is faced with an ever-increasing total cost to provide regional services for sewage, water, garbage and transit: from $4.7 billion in 2008 to $12.4 billion in 2030.

Although the process for developing Integrated Stormwater Management Plans (ISMPs) is a municipal responsibility, the Reference Panel has identified the need to consider their aggregate cost in a regional context.

“The ISMP process is a sleeper issue because there are 130 watersheds in Metro Vancouver,”  Kim Stephens informed the Metro Vancouver Waste Management Committee in July 2008.  “The total capital cost flowing from ISMPs could easily equal the $1.4 billion cost of sewage treatment, yet there has been little discussion about guiding philosophy or cost implications. While $1.4 billion is a big number, the long-term costs associated with a continuation of the old-business-as-usual are believed to be even greater. This is the elephant in the room “

To Learn More:

To learn more about what the Reference Panel reported to the Waste Management Committee, click on Metro Vancouver Reference Panel raises questions about ISMP process and outcomes to date

Originally posted on the Rainwater Management community-of-interest in July 2008