Today, the Honourable Harjit Sajjan, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, and Scott Pearce, Acting President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), announced a federal investment of more than $500,000 to help 11 British Columbia communities put in place innovative asset management strategies.
Asset management helps communities manage municipal infrastructure assets such as roads, arenas, bridges, drinking water and wastewater systems to ensure maximum performance and make better investment decisions. Asset management also helps reduce risks so municipalities can provide reliable and affordable services and a high quality of life to their residents.
This funding will help strengthen data-driven decision-making on key infrastructure and ensure long-term infrastructure performance. Among the recipients:
- The Town of Comox received $50,000 to complete a condition assessment of the town's 86,000 lineal meters of sanitary sewer pipes. Having information on the condition of the pipelines will help prioritize the rehabilitation of the sanitary system over the next 5-10 years.
- The City of Trail received $50,000 to perform assessments on its water systems and facilities. The City will then use the new information and state of the infrastructure report to update its current asset management plan. It will also update its current asset management policies. The City will actively participate in technical and best practice training for internal staff as well elected officials to increase its organizational capacity to anticipate, respond and plan for all the challenges faced when managing assets and providing services to the community.
- The Corporation of the District of Saanich received $50,000 to develop an asset management strategy that describes the current and future state of assets and asset management practices, establishes performance measures to track the progress of the asset management Program, and provides a roadmap with prioritized short, medium and long term actions for achieving sustainable service delivery. The project aligns with the asset management goals and initiatives set out in Council's Strategic Plan and Climate Plan.
