Local governments across Canada are starting to look at rainwater through a new lens – as a resource that can be managed and harvested on site as opposed to a waste product that must be removed.

It is becoming clear that combining green infrastructure with existing grey infrastructure systems is a cost-effective option that provides a range of environmental and social benefits. It is also clear that stormwater management is a critical municipal service that requires a new funding approach that is dedicated, transparent and fair.
 

July 11, 2016

 

Written by Sustainable Prosperity & released through the Metcalf Foundation Green Prosperity Papers

These tools include stormwater user fees and fee discounts; stormwater credit trading; grants, rebates and installation financing; development charges; development incentives; and habitat compensation banks. The report also describes a pioneering strategy to integrate the value to municipalities of existing green infrastructure, into formal local government asset management systems.

 

Canadian communities have untapped opportunities to strengthen local economies, reduce current and future energy costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and create jobs by investing in smarter and more integrated approaches to energy use at the local level. Communities that have analyzed these opportunities have consistently identified a strong value proposition for these approaches, with solid economic returns on investments, environmental gains, health benefits, and improved quality of life for local residents.

Sustainable Prosperity (SP) welcomes this opportunity to comment on the 2015 coordinated review of four provincial plans working to manage growth, protect the environment and stimulate the economy of Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe region. Land use planning is a complex and multi-dimension field. SP’s research is focused on the role of public policy to set price signals that support sustainable land use choices.