City of Toronto Partnership in the
Proposed Water Information Network
The Works Committee recommends that:
(1) subject to the approval of the 2000 Water and Wastewater Capital
Budget, funding in the amount of $40,000.00 be provided to the
Water Information Network, in addition to the $10,000.00 currently
provided to Riversides in in-kind support through existing office
space, utilities and telecommunications, to be allocated from the
Water and Wastewater Services Capital Budget, Account No. WW
404 (Storm Water Management), with further funding over the next
three years to be determined on an evaluation of the first year's
deliverables; and
(2) City officials be authorized to negotiate a funding agreement with
the Water Information Network which would include year-one
deliverables, an agreed reporting and evaluation system and an
understanding of what affect funding levels from others will have
on the deliverables.
The Works Committee submits the following report (November 19, 1999)
from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services:
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.
Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
A request for funding in the amount of $75,000.00 per year for three years
($225,000.00) is being sought by the Water Information Network proposal.
Recommendation:
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 the 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 the
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 believe 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
Tel: 392-4311; Fax: 392-2974
_________
The Works Committee reports, for the information of Council, having also had before it
during consideration of the foregoing matter a communication (January 11, 2000) from Ms.
Karen Buck, Toronto, Ontario, raising questions with respect to the proposed City of Toronto
partnership in the Water Information Network.