October 21, 1998

To:Works and Utilities Committee

From:Michael A. Price, General Manager, Water and Wastewater Services

Subject:Sewer Connection Blockage / Tree Root Removal and Grants Policy

Purpose:

To obtain approval for a harmonized Sewer Connection Blockage Inspection and Repair Program and Tree Root Removal and Grant Policy for the City.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Funding for the Sewer Connection Blockage Inspection and Repair Program and the Tree Root Removal and Grant Policy for the City is provided in the City's Annual Operating Budget. The harmonized services proposed in this report will not impact the overall Annual Operating Budget.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

1.The proposed harmonized Sewer Connection Blockage Inspection and Repair Program be adopted as follows:

a)a first response to sewer connection blockage inspection and emergency repair service will be provided by city staff 24 hours, seven days per week. After normal business hours, response will be limited to emergency situations where the drain(s) are completely blocked, all other service calls will be investigated the next business day;

b)in lieu of a cash deposit, excavations within the road allowance to determine necessary connection works, will proceed subject to the owner agreeing to reimburse the City for costs incurred in the event that the drain damage is determined to be on private property, or if the problem is within the road allowance and is non structural (i.e., contravention of the Sewer Use Bylaw, grease, etc.), by signing a standard agreement form prepared by the City;

c)road allowance clean-outs will be installed, where they don't exist, in conjunction with connection repairs undertaken by the City, at no cost to the owner; and

d)that the Urban Planning & Development Services Department will be requested to investigate the actions necessary to require property owners to undertake the installation of clean-outs, if one does not exist, in conjunction with connection works on private property.

2.The proposed harmonized Tree Root Removal and Grant Policy be adopted as follows:

a)in all cases the repair of drains within City property, will continue to be carried out by the City at no cost to the property owner, whether the blockage is caused by roots from a City or private tree;

b)assistance for the repair of private drains under the policy will only be provided where drain blockage is the result of roots from a City owned tree, as verified by City staff;

c)assistance will be provided on a no-fault or grant basis, to any property owner;

d)assistance will be provided on a one time only basis per property; and

e)assistance will be provided in the amount 100 percent of the invoiced cost, to a limit of $500 per property, for a repair or partial renewal of a drain or drains, and to a limit of $1500 per property, for the complete renewal of a drain or drains between the City property line and the building.

3. The existing "Drainman" Policy of the former City of North York be repealed;

4. The Drain Grant Appeal Program of the former City of Toronto be terminated; and

5. The appropriate City officials be authorized to give effect hereto.

Council Reference/Background/History:

The Works and Transportation Services Review Team in their report for Service Leveling to the Transition Team identified several services, that have a direct impact on the customer, where the service delivery and budget allocation need to be harmonized as a result of the amalgamation process. Two of these service activities are: (1) the Sewer Connection Blockage Inspection and

Repair Program; and (2) the Tree Root Removal and Grant Policy.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

1. Sewer Connection Blockage Inspection and Repair Program

The inspection, cleaning and/or repair of wastewater and stormwater connections is provided to:

• assess the condition of the connection and determine any necessary action;
• restore the hydraulic capacity of the connection and/or reinstate the structural integrity of the connection system within City property; and
• determine if the connection can be reused when redevelopment occurs.

The service is primarily driven by complaints from customers resulting from a drain blockage or collapse. Preventative maintenance by the City, in the form of periodic inspection and remedial work is only carried out at locations where historically there has been a problem which can not be easily resolved due to physical restrictions, such as the proximity of other utilities. With the exception of the former City of North York this "First Call"service is provided by city staff 24 hours, seven days per week.

In the former City of North York the initial inspection is done by a Drainman, ie., private drain contractor, hired by the resident. Under the policy approved by the former City of North York Council a Drainman must confirm that the problem is within the road allowance before City staff will respond to the complaint. The property owner is reimbursed for the Drainman's cost if the problem is found to be within the road allowance and is structural in nature.

Experience in implementing the Drainman Policy dictates that a subsequent inspection is required by City staff to confirm the Drainman's conclusions that the problem is on city property. Records from North York indicate that only one quarter of the calls requesting reimbursement of the Drainman's fees are valid. Therefore North York staff are duplicating the Drainman's work for 75 percent of the calls for the initial inspection of drain connections.

Although the North York Drainman Policy reduces the number of inspections required by the City, in two-thirds of drain problem cases the City must follow up on the Drainman's work, and there is insufficient information available to determine if the Drainman policy reduces or increases overall costs. However, it is anticipated that elimination of the policy would have a negligible impact on the annual budget. In addition, improved customer relations are established when the City provides the first response to calls/problems.

Following the first response, where the problem or condition of the connection cannot be determined through inspection by remote methods, all the former municipalities have undertaken an excavation within the street line. If repair work is not required on City property then the owner is billed for work done by the City. The former municipalities of East York and North York require a deposit of $400.00 and $1000.00 respectively before City staff will do any excavation. The deposit is returned if the problem is within City property.

In harmonizing the service City-wide, the cash deposit should be eliminated. In lieu of a cash deposit, it would be more feasible to proceed with the necessary excavation within the road allowance subject to the property owner agreeing to reimburse the City's costs if the problem is determined to be on private property or is non-structural in nature (i.e., contravention of the Sewer Use Bylaw, grease, etc.), by signing a standard agreement form. A form of this type is already in use in the former City of Toronto. This will prevent field staff having to be responsible for deposits, cash, cheques, etc., and lessen any potential hardship to homeowners in an emergency situation. If the homeowner fails to pay any outstanding charges, these can be recovered through property taxes, thus avoiding any risk associated with the elimination of the deposit.

To reduce future inspection and maintenance costs a cleanout should be provided on all connections. When one does not already exist, a cleanout should be installed at the street line in conjunction with connection repairs being undertaken by the City. In addition, when connection works are undertaken on the private portion of the drain, the property owner should be required to install a cleanout as near as possible to the outer wall of the building, when no other cleanout exists on the private portion of the drain.

In summary, to provide a consistent Sewer Connection Blockage Inspection and Repair service across the City without impacting the overall budget, it is proposed that:

a)a first response to sewer connection blockage inspection and emergency repair service be provided by city staff 24 hours, seven days per week. After normal business hours, response will be limited to emergency situations where the drain(s) are completely blocked, all other service calls will be investigated the next business day;

b)in lieu of a cash deposit, excavations within the road allowance to determine necessary connection works, proceed subject to the owner agreeing to reimburse the City for costs incurred in the event that the drain damage is determined to be on private property, or if the problem is within the road allowance and is non-structural (i.e., contravention of the Sewer Use Bylaw, grease, etc.), by signing a standard agreement form prepared by the City;

c)road allowance clean-outs be installed, where they don't exist, in conjunction with connection repairs undertaken by the City, at no cost to the owner; and

d)that the Urban Planning & Development Services Department be requested to investigate the actions necessary to require property owners to undertake the installation of clean-outs, if one does not exist, in conjunction with connection works on private property.

2. Tree Root Removal and Grant Policy

The existing tree root policies of the former six area Municipalities provide financial assistance to property owners for the repair of private drains (from the outside of the house to the property line) which have been blocked by the roots of a City owned tree, as verified by City staff.

In all cases the repair of drains within City property is carried out by the City at no cost to the property owner, whether the blockage is caused by roots from a City or private tree. Financial assistance in the form of a Drain Grant is provided to property owners for the repair of drains on private property on a "no fault" or "grant" basis, in recognition of the fact that roots are only able to enter drains which are already cracked or damaged.

The amount of the financial assistance and the conditions for assistance vary among the former Municipalities as listed in the following table:

To provide a consistent policy across the City without causing a substantial impact on the City's budget, it is proposed that financial assistance be provided in the amount of 100 percent of the invoiced cost, on a one time only basis per property, to a limit of $500, for a repair or partial renewal of a drain or drains, and a limit of $1500, for the complete renewal of a drain or drains between the City property line and the building.

This represents the average assistance available under the former policies, and provides more of an incentive for the homeowner to replace the drain rather than just do a repair. The chance of a problem re-occurring when the whole drain is replaced is much less than if only a repair is carried out.

In addition to the Drain Grant, the former City of Toronto has a drain grant appeal process established by City Council in June 1995, to consider appeals for additional funds for extraordinary claims.

The drain grant appeal process is administered through an existing Court of Revision and hearings are typically attended by staff representatives from Parks, Legal, Clerks and Works Departments. The Court of Revision has met 33 times to consider grant appeals and heard approximately 140 appeals resulting in a total of $38,000.00 being awarded over the three year period since its inception. This equates to an average award per appeal of $270.00.

Due to the lack of a clear definition of an "extraordinary" claim the court has had difficulty in establishing a consistent criteria for the award of additional funds. The cost of the court and staff time to attend hearings and review cases is more than the awards being granted, and with the higher drain grant being proposed in the harmonized Tree Root Policy there is less justification to retain the existing drain grant appeals process. Accordingly it is proposed that the former City of Toronto drain grant appeal process be terminated. It should be noted that although elimination of the appeals process will result in a savings, a resolution in staff is not anticipated. The proposal to terminate the drain grant appeals process has been discussed with the City Legal Services and they have no objection to the proposal.

In providing consistent Tree Root Removal and Grant Policy across the City without impacting the overall budget, it is proposed that:

1.in all cases the repair of drains within City property, continue to be carried out by the City at no cost to the property owner, whether the blockage is caused by roots from a City or private tree;

2.assistance for the repair of private drains under the policy only be provided where drain blockage is the result of roots from a City owned tree, as verified by City staff;

3.assistance be provided on a no-fault or grant basis, to any property owner;

4.assistance be provided on a one time only basis per property;

5.5.assistance be provided in the amount 100 percent of the invoiced cost, to a limit of $500 per property, for a repair or partial renewal of a drain or drains, and to a limit of $1500 per property, for the complete renewal of a drain or drains between the City property line and the building; and

6.assistance not be provided for maintenance work associated with snaking or chemically treating a drain to relieve a blockage.

Conclusions:

The harmonized Sewer Connection Blockage Inspection and Repair Program and a Tree Root Blockage and Grant Policy and Drain Grant Program is proposed for the New City and can be implemented with a negligible impact on the operating budget.

In order to establish a uniform policy the former City of North York's Drainman Policy and the former City of Toronto's Drain Grant Appeal Process should be eliminated.

Contact Name:

Mr. W. Green, Director

Quality Control and System Planning

Telephone: (416) 392-8242

Fax: (416) 392-2974

E-Mail wgreen@city.toronto.on.ca

Michael A. Price, P.Eng. FICE

General Manager

Water and Wastewater Services

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