That’s the estimate for the repair and replacement of aging water systems in Canada, according to the Canadian Infrastructure Report Card.
The report card has rated a third of Canada’s water infrastructure as only fair, poor, or very poor, and nearly 30% of water transmission lines are 50 years old or more. A study of aging infrastructure found a 27% increase in water main breaks over a six-year period.
Additionally, several media outlets tested water from across the country, and elevated levels of lead exceeding safe limits were found in one-third of samples tested by a coalition of journalists. It’s estimated that there are 50,000 lead water service lines in use in Canada.
Service Line Warranties of Canada, which is owned by a Canadian-based company in the utilities space, understands the unique challenges facing utilities as they face the ravages of extreme weather events on aging infrastructure never constructed to withstand the fury of climate change-enhanced storms. In less than a decade, we’ve made more than 14,000 repairs for our customers, saving them more than $6 million dollars, while putting that money into the pockets of local, licensed, and insured contractors and thus into Canadian communities.
As water utilities wrestle with the problem of funding improvements to this aging infrastructure, there is one part of the system that they are unable to touch—the service lines connecting customers’ homes to their main lines. In most communities, these service lines are the responsibility of the homeowner, but many homeowners are unaware of that, leading to uncomfortable conversations for utility employees. In fact, in the latest Canadian State of the Home Survey, 93% of respondents said they would rather be educated by their local utility about their service line responsibilities instead of learning about their responsibilities when a repair need arises.
Partnering with Service Line Warranties of Canada provides municipalities much-needed funding and support to meet their goals while educating their residents without any cost to the municipality. The program also offers an optional service line warranty program that allows homeowners to address repair issues while shielding themselves from the financial shock of possibly thousands of dollars, which will increase customer satisfaction rates with the utility. The program also has a network of Canadian contractors located in the communities we serve.
For more information about solutions offered by Service Line Warranties of Canada to meet your unique goals, contact us.