What Are We Asking?

The City of Saskatoon is asking contractors and consultants, who play a key role in protecting Saskatoon’s environment to provide input on two important documents:

• Contractor Environmental Guidelines Update (CEG): This document will outline the environmental performance expected on City funded projects and on City land. There is a focus on legal requirements and best practices that help minimize environmental impact throughout all stages of construction.
• New Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) Standards: These standards will help protect Saskatoon’s rivers, stormwater systems, and natural areas by keeping soil and pollutants from eroding. This will help keep our city clean and safe, while also helping Saskatoon meet environmental regulations.

These updates will help ensure that environmental protection is built into project design from the start.

How Can You Get Involved?

Contractors, sub-contractors, consultants and identified stakeholders will be invited to provide feedback through stakeholder focus groups. Please visit this page for future engagement opportunities or use the following methods to reach out to the project team.

What is the Project About?

The City of Saskatoon is committed to protecting our natural environment, especially during construction activities that can impact sensitive areas like wetlands and waterways.

In 2014, concerns were raised about potential impacts to migratory bird habitats near Saskatoon. This led to a collaborative effort to improve how environmental protection is managed on City construction projects.

Between 2015 and 2017, the City explored the feasibility of creating Contractor Environmental Guidelines (CEG). A project team was formed to identify goals, priorities, and desired outcomes. As a result:

• An updated Environmental Protection Specification was released in 2017.
• The first version of the Contractor Environmental Guidelines and supporting documents was developed in 2018.
• A CEG pilot program ran from 2019 to 2021, helping test and refine the tools.
• After the pilot, Construction & Design adopted the CEG tools for all its projects.
• A summary report was created with recommendations for future improvements.
• In 2023, Saskatoon Water requested further updates—specifically to improve Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) Design and Development Standards. The goal is to include standard drawings and shift environmental planning earlier in the project lifecycle to prevent infrastructure and environmental damage and to keep our City clean and safe.
• The new Project Environmental Guidelines are intended to be a living document that will be updated as environmental performance requirements change.

Why Are We Doing This Work?

As Saskatoon continues to grow, construction projects play a major role in shaping our city. Without proper environmental planning, these projects can unintentionally harm our natural surroundings, especially our waterways, wetlands, and stormwater systems. The City is also experiencing increasing public concern about noise and dust from construction.

To help prevent this, the City of Saskatoon is updating its CEG and developing new ESC Standards.

These tools will:

• Protect storm water infrastructure and the South Saskatchewan River by reducing sediments and pollutants from construction sites.
• Promote consistency in how contractors plan for and manage environmental risks on all City funded projects and projects on City land.
• Support compliance with environmental laws and regulations.

By strengthening these guidelines and standards, Saskatoon is taking proactive steps to protect our environment while continuing to build a vibrant, resilient city.