WCAC - April 30 2014 Minutes

Date: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 Time: 5:00 p.m. 7:45 p.m. Location: YRDSB Boardroom, 300 Harry Walker Parkway S, Newmarket

Participants:

Cheri Buxton, Tracey Carrigan, Emay Cowx, Arlene Etchen, Renee Jarrett, Sarah Kurtz, Jeroen Louwers, Theresa MacIntyre-Morris, Sonya Meek, Kristen Morrison, Lorelie Noble, Kathryn Powell, Vicki Puterbough, Melissa Rosato, Carol Salisbury, Kent Shadwick

Regrets: Amos Chan, John Mill, Leigh Paulseth, Suzanne Smoke, Guest Nick Jackson, Jennifer Best, Tara Clayton

Agenda Topic: Welcome & Agenda Review

Discussion Leader: Cheri Buxton

Discussion: Q: Question A: Answer S: Suggestion Welcomed back Theresa MacIntyre-Morris to the group, and introduced Nick Jackson as a guest to the meeting. Action Items: Person Responsible: Deadline:

Agenda Topic: Servicing Incentive Program (SIP) & LEED

Discussion Leader: Jennifer Best York Region

Discussion: This presentation was to provide information on two residential home incentive programs that the Region has been reviewing for the past few years. York region has a proposal to update the current high-rise program through LEED, and to replace the former Sustainable Home Incentive Program (SHIP) which focuses on low rise developments to focus on water and wastewater program into a Servicing Incentive Program (SIP). LEED was a 4 story or more program, which had a bonus structure if green developments were built. It was centred on 4 sustainability components. Since the program started in 2009 there have been 2200 units built with the majority of them in Markham and Vaughan. A development in Keswick will be starting in the near future. The SHIP program was for developments up to 3 stories high and focused on 6 sustainability components. Programs started with similar drive to SHIP but were not formally in the program because the requirements to participate did not outweigh the incentives thus there was no participation in SHIP. Program review had 4 major drivers for change.

In January 2014 the Ontario Building Code changed to include water conservation in the standards. Due to this change York Region would have to amend the redundant components of LEED and SIP making them above and beyond the new building code.

Need to align the programs to meet York Regions official plan regarding sustainability. Stakeholder feedback has been ongoing and they provided details on what has been working

and administrative details to review. Need to include measures for inflow and infiltration (I & I) controls of leaking pipes into

development incentives. I & I have base standards set out by the ministry for all municipalities to build to. Each municipality has their own design manual. To reduce the leaking pipes York Region has over and above sewer specs

YORK-#5480399-v3-WCAC_-_April_30_2014_Minutes 1

which some local municipalities have included in their design manuals. York Region specs require more inspections of pipes & manholes. Flow monitors will be put in place to determine if the system is secure and if there are any extraneous flows to identify where water is being lost. Rainfall monitoring with gauges will also be installed within 2 km of the sites if not already there. Moving forward with the review of these programs, a BILD consultation occurred and they will provide formal comments in May to the Region. By July York Region hopes to have a guide created which they will provide back to BILD, and local municipal staff. Q: The comparison slide in the presentation of SHIP/SIP shows that the drought resistant plants were taken out of the York Region requirements however, last meeting there was a presentation about York Regions initiative to use low impact plants. Is there a reason why the programs are not incorporating each other? A: The programs have changed to focus more on water/wastewater. Developers are still encouraged to incorporate low impact plants into their developments and many municipalities have sustainability guidelines which are encouraging builders to include these in their low impact development. When dealing with the building industry their only requirement is to build to code, thus you want to encourage voluntary action. Q: The comparison slide in the presentation of LEED shows that in 2008 the separate water meters were required in each unit. Can you please explain why they have been removed from the requirements? A: In 2011 York Region did a workshop with BILD and the 2 Conservation Authorities. The feedback received from the multi-unit developers was that it is not cost effective for the structural plumbing to install individual meters in all the units. Q: Were they installed in any units? A: Not that we are aware. Q: So it can be done for electricity but not water? A: The cost issue is due to the structural plumbing, York Region also had a consultant do some research about this, and the findings show that there is not much difference in water use if there was individual metering or not. S: This could be factored on the type of structure being reviewed. If it is a multi-unit facility they might not have and outdoor water use whereas an individual residential home would have outdoor water use and there would be more variability. Q: Are the Low Impact Developments techniques for outdoor water conservation voluntary under this incentive program? A: Under the LEED program it is included, but in the SIP it is not included. Q: Regarding the calculation from units to person, does the persons per unit (ppu) factor into the calculation? A: The ppu is different for each of the municipalities, and the type of structure being developed. It has been determined that some locations house more people than others so this is factored into the tables created by the planning department. Q: What is the experience York Region has had regarding the negativity towards rainwater? A: In general the response is just regarding how expensive it is to install in a residential setting. According to BILD it is similar to comparing the installation of a home furnace. Some people are uncomfortable with it and dont understand the requirements and they require maintenance which often people dont do. If people are interested in them they often do it themselves. Q: You talk about rainwater for irrigation but what about for toilet flushing? A: It was only considered for outdoor water use. The return on investment for residential developments is not there for Gray water. Action Items: Person Responsible:

Deadline:

Agenda Topic: Discussion Leader:


Innovative Sustainable Development Approvals Tara Clayton York Region Discussion: A presentation of the outcomes from the Innovative Sustainable Development Approvals (ISDA) project. In accordance with the Long Term Water Conservation Strategy (LTWCS) and to meet York Regions goal of no new water by 2051 or 150 liters per capita per day, York Region piloted an expedited approvals process to incent green building for developers willing to build using requirements & targets above and beyond the building code. There are many cases internationally that prove that an expedited approvals process is successful in achieving green new development. Advantages for the expedited process includes:

For the Region: drives sustainability in building which is included in official plans, it supports competition within the industry and generates economic return

For the Developer: reduces the risk of government change which might alter the development

plans and saves costs as they are able to get to market earlier. The 185 unit residential development project is located at Davis Drive and Bathurst in Newmarket. The partners for this project included York Region, the Town of Newmarket, Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) & Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), and Mosaik Homes. The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) was a silent partner who funded the project. The energy and water conservation targets that were set for this project were based on exceeding the 2012 Ontario Building Code which is when the project started. This projects innovative sustainable development includes exfiltration system, infiltration gardens, bioswales and installing water efficient fixtures, 3.8L toilets etc. This site will also have increased top soil with more organics to support vegetation. Q: When discussing runoffs with the Total Suspended Solids (TSS), are you only concerned with suspended solids and what would those solids be? A: The TSS which is of concern include sands, partials of silt that are run off from agricultural land, front lawns and roads that dont dissolve and get suspended in storm water. These are typically what are discussed when talking about the 80% removal. Q: Are you just concerned with the phosphorous in terms of soluble, not road salts? A: LSRCA has a protection plan for Lake Simcoe and a major concern is phosphorus in the lake. This is because the phosphor attaches itself to the TSS particles. If you could reduce/remove the TSS then you also remove the phosphorus found in the lake. Q: Was permeable asphalt considered for this project? A: A design charrette was done before the draft plan of the subdivision was submitted and the option of permeable driveways was discussed. The developer chose not to use it due to the cost. Roadways still do not have enough information to prove it will work in our climate. Q: Is that product at a point that it can be used in Canadian environments? A: Yes, and there are area in York Region where it has been used on driveways but not as roadways. Credit Valley Conservation Authority has case studies online (ex. IMAX in Mississauga has installed a permeable parking lot). Q: Was there an incremental cost for the developer? A: This information has been requested for the monitoring data which still needs to be provided. The incremental cost is not that large, because it is easier to do it at development instead of a retrofit. Q: When doing the monitoring and evaluation, does the full cost get passed on to the home owner? A: The developer receives a credit of $5000 for the first 50 homes built to energy star and the developer saves on the time, which translates to saved money. The engineer design meetings and the expedited approvals resulted in homes going to the market approximately 8 months sooner than if traditional review process was followed. Q: How will you figure out water conservation savings? A: This will be done once residents have moved in. The Region will look at billing data, outdoor


metering if funding is available. Q: The town of Newmarket has been chosen for a pilot project regarding Smart Connectivity with utilities. Will this tie into the project? A: Not sure of the details regarding the utilities project as that is done through the municipality. It is thought that their project is going to be more of an energy focus not water, but Tara can provide town contact information. Q: What Provincial policies would you have liked for this project to help it work well? A: In the 2003 storm water management report it is suggested that LID and the treatment train approach for storm water management but the guide still promotes swm ponds. There were lots of concerns from developers when they submit for approvals to the ministry it depends on the reviewer if they would approve the plans based on their comfort level of new technologies. There are many locations that are looking at fast tracking for brownfield redevelopments. Q: What is the reason for wanting to fast track? Is it for economic development or to bring green development? A: In this current case it was simply to have a greener or above code development completed. York Region has communities that have that initiative in place but there hasnt been any uptake. Because the MOE funded part of the project, the report and case study for this project will be available to share across the Province. Perception is that the technologies cannot work in the Canadian climate which is not the case. Many locations in the United States have the same type of climate that we do and have been using low impact development technologies for over a decade successfully. This project was able to reach and exceed several of the targets because of the commitment from the developer and consultants. Q: Who are you attracting to these homes? Are they first time buyers? A: These homes are geared towards second time home buyers. Q: Does it meet the affordable housing requirements? A: The prices were not at the meeting however the range of semis start around $500,000 and singles are in the $600,000 $700,000 range. Action Items: Tara to provide details for Cheri to share regarding the Town of Newmarket pilot project

Person Responsible: Tara Clayton

Deadline: May 2014

Agenda Topic: Highlights from the 2013 Annual Report

Discussion Leader: Vicki Puterbough

Discussion: As a requirement of the Long Term Water Conservation Strategy (LTWCS) York Region provides an annual water report for the MOE. On March 31Pst Pthe second report was completed and posted online for review. All rebates for water conservation are being phased out as of June 30, 2014. The ICI toilet rebate is staying but will be merged into the ICI incentive program. Suggested indoor rebates that had not been started but mentioned in the LTWCS will not be started. York Region did some monitoring of rainwater harvesting systems last year and found there were some water quality issues. As a result, the Region is performing a gap analysis on some of the Ministry of the Environments policies and guidelines to make rainwater harvesting recommendations. The local municipalities provided their 2012 water audit data to the region regarding their infrastructure leak index, and opportunities for non-revenue water reductions. The goal is an annual report from all local municipalities. Billing data has been obtained from local municipalities. The Region is incorporating it into a database so that high water users can be identified, program areas targeted and effective evaluation of programs conducted. Q: What is the difference between the 26 million liters of water saved versus the 3.6 million mentioned


in the presentation? A: The 3.6 million liters of water saved per day is part of the 26 million. The 26 million is from the start of conservation initiatives which began in 1998. The 3.6 million liters is since the LTWCS started in 2011. The beginning of the program was a great success to reduce the amount of water saved. A large part of the conservation was from the rebates of low flow toilets in residential houses. Q: What are you teaching the grade 5 students in the new program? A: The new curriculum being taught to the grade 5 students will include:

York regions role in providing clean safe drinking water Levels of government in Ontario Infrastructure of pipes for water How York Region cleans your water The importance of water conservation

Q: The home incentives, regarding recirculation systems and tankless water heaters, is there a reason why you are not going to do them as there are lots of savings associated with them? A: These products are available and common in the market already and people can choose to purchase them. This means it not as economical to incent from the Regions perspective. It isnt to say we dont support these products; there will just be no monetary rebate for installing them. S: Increase the education of recirculation systems and their benefits. S: Increase education on water softener settings, and the concerns of them flushing early. Q: The graph looks like there has been a 5% decrease of water each year. Is this climate or savings from water usage? Since there was lots of rain last year does that factor into the cost savings? A: The graph is only a residential presentation of water conservation. Weather does play into the factors for the information. As more data is collected, such as the billing data, the graph will be updated to better reflect the true percentages. It is expected that between now and the 2051 the water use may go up before meeting its target of no new water. Overall the trend is decreasing. Action Items: Person Responsible: Deadline:

Agenda Topic: Water Is Campaign Next Steps


Discussion: The Water Is campaign is now moving into its second phase as of July 2014. The focus of this new phase is to showcase the need for change, the consequence of wasting water and the cost of supplying water. One intention is to make people stop and think what their life would be like without water. The Region is exploring how to market these new focuses, and welcomes any comments on what works or doesnt regarding the posters and recommendations moving forward. S: Use kids with a glass that is empty in a picture. S: Show a child brushing their teeth and the water is not running. Using a glass of water instead of running the tap. S: The sample poster image of Water Is Precious has a bit of a disconnection from the image. There is an understanding that children are precious, however not sure how it connects with the missing frog. A glass of water is a much more direct message to precious and can be linked very well with the children. S: Showcase fun and recreation by using an empty swimming pool with kids in and around looking sad showing the consequence of no water. S: Splash pads not turned on and kids not having fun because it is dry. S: Since the campaign concept is around conservation, some of the posters feel negative and showing hardship. A: The campaign is not just conservation but also around the meaning of water, and the service


provided. S: The Ontario Science Centre had a display showing how much water is in the body. Ties into Water Is Life Saving. S: The posters with the children show the benefits of water, but the ones with the fire highlight consequences which are more valuable because there is the perception that water is so readily available. This would highlight some of the ways we dont even realize we use water excessively:

Have a shower with someone dirty and there is no water to clean off The muddy dog walking across your floor Sprinklers in the rain

S: Have a poster that says Driveways dont grow, or make the picture humours by growing flowers through asphalt. S: Wasted water of washing your car in the driveway. It needs to be explained that it is not a good thing, and that car washes are more environmentally friendly. S: Athletes needing water. You could show them at a water fountain with no water coming out. This could tie into the decal pilot project. S: The Water Is Nourishing sample poster takes too long to process that you are talking about food. Make it simple like Water Is Food. S: Have a gardening image that shows what your property looks like without water. S: Community gardens build on relationships which might be another way to target an audience about how everyone needs to help out. S: There is a website 24TUwww.watercharity.orgU24T which highlights the impact of water with women in 3PrdP world locations that collect water and clean with it. This water is often dirty. You could have a split images showing someone collecting dirty water vs. the convenience of turning the tap on and getting fresh clean safe water. S: Show native grasses and plants in a neighbourhood that are sustainable and look appealing to show people alternatives to standard developers grass. S: Have the message Water Is Peaceful showing a dry lake and an empty canoe. Peaceful and Calming are two very common words used in explanations. S: There is a movie called The Great Lakes from the National Film Board where a guy dip a glass to get clean water, then the second time he dips his glass it is dirty. By using the same example of the lake which is dry show the importance of keeping water safe and not wasting it. S: Use Water Is Habitat, to focus on other environments that require water not just humans. S: The idea of pairings, such as the HSBC Bank campaign posters that have the same image, just a different tag line makes you stop and think of the subtle differences. It is a test of your initial thoughts, and makes you think of your own habits. Q: Has there been contact with RBC for funding, and advertising with York Region Transit? A: RBC does not fund campaigns; they only provide financial assistance for projects. Bus shelters and transit advertising have been used. S: With the perception that there is lots of water available in Canada, there needs to be authentic locations of York Region. This way people will see the outcomes of your own community and wont be thinking that it isnt their problem. S: You could have an image that if you look closely has a secondary message. Show a home sink, but then the pipe travels out of the house to the lake. This would provide you with a connection from your home to nature, and where your water is coming from. S: Include the cost of water. Have money in the shape of a water drop coming out of a tap. Emphasize clean water has a cost to provide, and wasting it means you are wasting money.


S: The Housing Service Corporation did an animated movie which Arlene will provide to Cheri. This could be used as a model to explain how you save water. S: Show equivalent cost comparisons to help people understand true cost of water. Show what the average housing expenses are in York Region for electricity, etc., compared to cost for electricity to test and deliver water to residents. S: The general population doesnt understand what a watershed is. You could show the route from your tap to the water source, and all the locations in between on a map. S: Red Cross had a campaign that showed someone giving blood in one image the person that they saved in another image and in between had the lab technician doing the testing. This could be a simple explanation of keeping our water safe and showing the steps of how your water gets to you. S: Provide in residents water utility bills a seed sheet of water efficient plants that could be planted to help them save on water costs. S: Make it socially unacceptable and shameful to waste water. Pointing out how silly people are when using water in excess. S: Highlight what in York Region would not be around if we didnt have water to support them.

Craft breweries Holland Marsh Fairy Lake Lake Wilcox

We need a way to show the importance of hidden water and the costs associated with aging infrastructure and climate change. S: Show local washouts that have happened and the aftermath. Include costs so people can understand it is not just the mud left behind that is the problem. It includes the time lost from businesses that couldnt open, travel time of people redirected, and how it can be resolved by updating infrastructure. S: To best target people with your message, determine what people value and make that the focus. It might be the convenience factor that they could lose; water pricing might be another means to grab their attention. S: Show aging infrastructure and compare it to residents homes. Your house is not the only home you have, and need to have maintained. S: Is there a way to measure the amount of water we conserve in a specific time frame. Maybe try to do a campaign like Earth Hour where people turn out their lights. They can turn off their taps. S: You could do posters that say He knows when you are sleeping; he knows when youre awake. Show a picture of a water operator & engineers to explain peak water use times. S: You could have Rick Mercer do an expose on what York Region is doing for water conservation. S: Previously there was talks about having posters in washrooms that said Ill take it from here with the OMM staff pictures. This is a humours way to get your message out. Seneca students did research for the Region about the Water Is campaign and creating different ideas to promote the information. When asking students what they value most the 3 most common answers were:

Health Family Money

Using these three topics will try to use humor to grab peoples attention. S: Has enough time passed to bring up the consequences dirty water like what happened with Walkerton, without calling into question the ability to supply water? A: The Region wants people to trust that we are looking after the residents water needs and show that there is expertise in the roles. The intent is not to have people question if the water is safe so we


wouldnt want to bring up a case such as Walkerton. S: To highlight the hero side of water you could ask How many people does it take to turn on the tap? (a play on the joke how many people does it take to change a light bulb) S: Use images of infrastructure that shows how many people are provided service and water from them. Also have water/wastewater technicians, OMM employees, the control room etc. show what is required. S: Do a split side with a technician on one side doing testing and the other side is a child playing. This would explain that a technician makes water safe enough to play and enjoy. S: Use the analogy of maintenance to your car (infrastructure), or a doctors check-up (health) to help people understand that pipes needs to be maintained too. S: Make a LTWCS YouTube video to explain the Regions plan in an animation form for people to understand the big picture moving towards 2051. S: The Town of Aurora created a video regarding their services. It is really well done and could be used as a reference tool. Action Items: Find the Housing Service Corporation Movie

Person Responsible: Arlene Etchen

Deadline:

Agenda Topic: Wrap Up


Discussion: Thank you to Kathryn for hosting the meeting. Next meeting is Wednesday June 25PthP. The September 24PthP meeting will be held at The TRCA Kortright Centre and will include a Sustainable Home tour. Please let us know if the September 24PthP date will work for our meeting by May 7PthP as we will have to book the facility. The Region is looking for alternative location to host the meeting. If you have a space available for our November meeting please contact Kristen Morrison. The WCAC website has moved. It can now be found under 24TUwww.york.ca/waterfortomorrowU24T. Changes are still in effect. Cheri will advise once it has been updated. Action Items: Confirm September 24PthP availability Book Kortright Centre & Tour Meeting Room Availability for WCAC Meetings WCAC Website updates

Person Responsible: Everyone Kristen Morrison Everyone Cheri Buxton

Deadline: May 7, 2014 May 9P, P2014 November Once completed

Next Meeting: June 25, 2014 320 Bloomington Road West, Aurora.


Documents

WCAC - April 30 2014 Minutes