Canada’s stock of sanitary and storm sewers is, at 53.3% of its useful life of 33.6 years, the third oldest of the five major classes of public infrastructure.

As the second-largest public asset after roads and highways, the number of sanitary and storm sewers has grown by an estimated 1% annually since 2001. However, their average age has steadily increased, too. In fact, since 1980, the age of sewer stock has risen by 20%.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, sewers have reached 62.2% of their useful life. In Saskatchewan, they are at 61%.

Probably more important than the absolute age of a province’s sanitary and storm sewers is whether they are getting younger or older. From this perspective, the clear winner is Manitoba, where the average age of sanitary and storm sewers has been reduced by 9.9% over the past 10 years.

In Alberta, rapid population growth has pushed the province to invest heavily in order to expand its stock of public infrastructure. As a result, the average age of its stock of sanitary and storm sewers has fallen by 8.4% since 1997.

Based on the fact that the average age of sanitary and storm sewers has increased by 20.5% in Prince Edward Island and 15.5% in Newfoundland and Labrador, it is clear that investment in this infrastructure asset has not been a priority in those provinces for several years. This pattern of benign neglect has probably been exacerbated by significant net out-migration from those provinces over many years.

Looking forward, it is hoped that the growing awareness of the importance of maintaining public infrastructure in general — and sanitary and storm sewers, in particular — will motivate all three levels of government to spend more to rejuvenate this essential public asset.

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