STAFF REPORT
November 19, 1999
To: Works Committee
From: Barry H. Gutteridge, Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services
Subject: City of Toronto Partnership in the Proposed Water Information Network (WIN)
Purpose:
To respond to the Works Committee's request for a report on the communication from Mr. Kevin Mercer, Ms. Lois Corbett
and Ms. Anne Mitchell inviting the City of Toronto to become a founding institutional partner to help establish Toronto's
Water Information Network (WIN).
Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
A request for funding in the amount of $75,000 per year for three years ($225,000) is being sought by the Water
Information Network proposal.
Recommendations:
It is recommended any decision on city funding for the proposed Water Information Network be deferred until clear goals,
deliverables, timelines and budget requirements have been established.
Background:
Three community groups, Riversides, Toronto Environmental Alliance and the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law
and Policy, brought forward to the Works Committee a proposal for a community based water clearinghouse. The trio of
founding partners asked the City of Toronto to become a founding institutional partner in the establishment of the proposed
Water Information Network (WIN). WIN is also seeking the partnership and funding from Environment Canada and the
Ontario Ministry of Environment. Further funding is being sought from Trillium and the Toronto Community Foundation.
WIN is proposed as a community-based resource centre that will 'promote and undertake watershed regeneration and
municipal pollution prevention'. The nucleus of the WIN proposal is an interactive web site with a complementary
information hotline, on-line newsletters, workshops and a speaker's bureau.
Comments:
The WIN proposal presents a unique initiative, which provides for the co-ordinated dissemination of water related
environmental information through a variety of forums. While the city and other agencies such as Toronto and Region
Conservation Authority (TRCA), the Waterfront Regeneration Trust (WRT) and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment
currently provide and/or are planning to provide the services presented in the proposal, there is merit in strengthening and
co-ordinating the delivery of these services through one organization as proposed by WIN.
The Works and Emergency Services Department has recognized the need for a forum that provides for the sharing of
information among community groups. A number of organizations have been discussing various Internet initiatives to
serve a multitude of purposes such as providing a resource library of information reports on environmental topics, a
database of community projects including plantings, waterfront restoration, naturalization projects and other environmental
activities, a listing of events for and by community groups, technical information, moderated bulletin boards or online
forums and links to other sites. Currently the city maintains a web site, as do other agencies with an interest in the
dissemination of environmental information pertaining to water. For example, the TRCA, the WRT, the Ontario Ministry
of Environment and Environment Canada all have existing web sites. While linkages exist between these and other sites,
they can be strengthened and additional information can be provided.
The WIN proposal includes a telephone hotline, H2infO. The department, however, already has a public information
hotline: the Waste and Water Information Line at 392-4546. The Waste and Water Line is staffed by a minimum of one
public information officer weekdays between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Callers can reach the live officer or
access automated information that includes answers to many frequently asked questions including a full menu of
water-related options. Discussion is required to determine how WIN could enhance this existing service.
A Speaker's Bureau is being proposed by WIN. A number of senior staff from the department's Water and Wastewater
Services Division are asked to make presentations and can credibly impart the department's position on various issues. It
should also be noted that the Waterfront Regeneration Trust has a series of workshops and seminars for the public on
water-related topics.
Before the department can responsibly proceed with funding the WIN proposal, a briefing discussion needs to take place
between staff, WIN representatives and other organizations to co-ordinate the various overlapping initiatives. It should be
possible to delineate a role for each organization, which will help advance the goals of all agencies and groups. By
partnering with other organizations, WIN may provide an enhancement to work that is currently underway or proposed for
the coming year. Further, a meeting of all potential funding partners to WIN should be held to discuss the proposal. Staff
believes that a more detailed list of deliverables with associated timelines is required before an appropriate level of city
funding can be determined for WIN. The department is looking for immediate projects to help advance current initiatives at
the same time as the Wet Weather Flow Masterplan is developed.
Conclusions:
This report comments on the proposal for a community based water clearinghouse brought before the Works Committee by
Riversides, Toronto Environmental Alliance and the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy. The trio of
founding partners asked the City of Toronto to become a founding institutional partner in the establishment of the proposed
Water Information Network (WIN).
Staff will request two meetings with WIN representatives in order to move the proposal forward to a point where the
Works and Emergency Services Department can make a funding assessment. One meeting would share with WIN
information on other initiatives underway by the city and other organizations, and a second meeting with potential funding
partners would establish clear goals, deliverables with associated timelines and budget requirements for WIN.
Contact:
Kari Kerr
Senior Communications Coordinator, Support Services
Telephone: 392-4311
Fax: 392-2974
Michael A. Price, P. Eng., FICE
General Manager, Water and Wastewater Services
Barry H. Gutteridge
Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services
