Sewer and Watermain

March 2, 2010

Environmental assessments are holding back construction, report says

Ontario’s municipal class environmental assessment system adds $232 million in extra project costs and holds back 10,000 jobs through delays, finds a Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario report released today.

February 22, 2010

Ontario, construction industry working to clarify HST language

A clearer understanding of when Ontario’s harmonized sales tax is to be included in bids was established in a recent meeting between industry stakeholders and the province.

February 11, 2010

Ontario Construction Secretariat adds Frank Zechner to staff

The Ontario Construction Secretariat has added Frank Zechner to its staff to help bolster its resources and expertise in construction of municipal water and wastewater facilities.

January 20, 2010

Task order tenders fill niche in Toronto

Historically, the vast majority of municipal infrastructure projects in Canada have been implemented using the “design-bid-build” approach.

January 6, 2010

Windsor, Ontario’s St. Clair College opens Centre for Construction, Innovation and Production

Electrical students will no longer have to share storage cradles with heating, ventilation and air conditioning students. Those studying to become plumbing apprentices won’t have to “imagine” certain construction scenarios and pretend to do hook-ups.

January 4, 2010

With stimulus cash flowing, Windsor, Ontario construction industry ready for 2010

Thanks in large part to federal and provincial infrastructure stimulus funding, the Windsor construction industry is looking forward to a busy construction season in 2010.

December 22, 2009

Toronto lead pipe replacement program gets ‘stimulated’

With federal government economic stimulus money on the way for local infrastructure projects, Toronto Water is escalating its efforts to replace the lead pipes that connect the city’s older homes to municipal watermains.

December 21, 2009

Ontario MPP floats bill to create provincial water regulatory board

A private member’s bill seeks to create an Ontario water regulatory board that would oversee standards for water and waste water treatment across the province.

December 17, 2009

Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association aims to raise profile

Entrenching the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association as a premier resource for infrastructure expertise, both politically and publicly, is a primary goal of the association’s new executive director.

December 11, 2009

HST expected to benefit Ontario construction industry

The competitive advantage of Ontario’s construction industry will be strengthened when the province’s new Harmonized Sales Tax comes into effect next July, industry stakeholders say.

March 28, 2008

L82 Construction marks 25th anniversary by building new headquarters

More than 25 years ago, in the depths of the 1980s recession, Emanuel “Manny” De Melo found himself out of work after his employer folded. He wasn’t alone; soaring interest rates had left many Canadians within the construction industry in the same position.

March 28, 2008

Northern Ontario’s short construction season poses challenges

Of all the differences between the north and the south when it comes to construction, one factor has the biggest impact on sewer and watermain projects – the north’s short building season.

March 28, 2008

New concrete pressure pipe will start as gravity pipe, then become forced main as needs change

Burrowing under Highway 410 and through a number of river crossings while staying clear of hydro lines, a 4.5-kilometre-long sanitary diversion sewer now under construction in Brampton may be the first of its kind in the Greater Toronto Area.

March 28, 2008

York Region interceptor sewer project employs most current tunnel technology

A year after construction started, a $76-million interceptor sewer employing the most recent advances in tunnel technology is nearing completion in the York Region town of Richmond Hill.

March 28, 2008

Portions of Ontario Water Resources Act frustrate contractors, delay projects

The Ontario Water Resources Act was designed in part to protect the province’s water resources from industrial and commercial users who might draw more water out of provincial aquifers than they can reasonably sustain.

March 28, 2008

Potholes wreak havoc on infrastructure

Mountains of snow and frequent freeze-thaw conditions in Toronto and much of Ontario this winter have pounded streets and highways into pothole nightmares. But municipalities could face more than road repairs in the months to come as a result of the pothole epidemic.