Sewer Capacity Constraint Issues

This website was developed to provide information and assistance to residents and businesses that are affected by the City’s sewer capacity issues. If you are not familiar with the City’s sewer capacity issues, go to the General Overview section, which provides a brief description of what the problems are, where the problems are found, how the City is addressing those problems, and how residents and businesses will likely be affected.

To see where the current sewer constraint issues are located, go to the Sewer Capacity Constraint Zone Map which is the most up-to-date map showing areas where there are constraints that have resulted in restrictions on the provision of sewer taps, building permits, and certain types of land-use approvals. This map will change frequently to reflect the completion of relief projects and the associated removal of areas that are experiencing sewer capacity constraints. It is anticipated that in approximately three years there will be very few areas within the City that are experiencing sewer constraints associated with existing facilities.

If you already know that your property or your construction or rehabilitation project is in a sewer capacity constraint zone (or was in a sewer capacity constraint zone last time you talked with Water Services Department or Development Services Department staff), then go to the Sewer Capacity Relief Project Map and Schedules page. The map depicts the locations of the various projects that the City will be funding to eliminate all identified sewer constraints. These projects have been numbered according to the contract system (as opposed to a list of physical projects) that will be utilized by the Water Services Department to deal with the numerous constraint areas – in some cases you will note that several areas have the same number, indicating that the City will be utilizing one combined schedule, one design phase, and one contractor for several smaller projects. The associated schedule shows the planned design, bid and construction timelines for each of the projects shown on the map.

Finally, if you are familiar with the City’s sewer constraint issues and know the planned City schedule for the relief project in your area, but you still want to learn more about specifically what you or your business can do to respond to the situation, go to Builders and Developers Instructions and WSD Temporary Sewer Capacity Procedures. These documents describe the steps that can be taken to deal with the sewer constraint issue, and the procedural steps that the City is currently taking to minimize health risks while ensuring that sewer capacity problems are addressed as quickly as possible.