SPC Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services Decisions in Brief

7.1.1 Landfill Diversion Project

Decision

*The Committee received the report as information.

Background

*The purpose is to communicate the implementation of a diversion strategy for bicycles disposed at the Saskatoon Regional Waste Management Centre (Landfill).
*Bicycles brought to the Landfill for disposal will now be diverted for reuse within the community.
*Bridge City Bicycle Co-op has entered into a contract with the City as the service provider responsible for refurbishing and distributing used bicycles.

7.1.2 2016 Update to Our Environment: Environmental Leadership Report

Decision

*The Committee recommended to City Council that the report be received as information and that it be forwarded to the Saskatoon Environmental Advisory Committee for information.

Background

*The 2016 update to the City’s Our Environment report is provided in the form of an online reporting tool highlighting the status of 16 selected indicators representing the key components of the state of Saskatoon’s environmental health – air, land, water and waste.
*New indicators added to the 2016 update are: bird population count, corporate alternative energy projects, maximum daily demand for water, and total waste disposal and diversion.
*Key findings include:

• Saskatoon’s 2014 Ecological Footprint was 7.38 global hectares per person, which is an increase of 1.4% from 2010 and 7% from 2003.
• The waste diversion rate for 2015 of 21.0% was a small decrease from the 2014 rate of 22.5%, and needs improvement to meet the target of 70%.
• The total amount of waste accepted by City disposal programs has decreased faster than diversion programs, showing a general trend of improvement in overall amount of waste generated in the community between 2014 and 2015.
• The residential water consumption per capita has increased slightly between 2014 and 2015, but continues to remain relatively stable since 2010.
• The amount and distribution of new development investment illustrates that investment in development activities are balanced across the city. · Over the past decade, the number of Western Meadowlarks counted have decreased over time, while both the Merlin and Peregrine Falcon counts have improved.
• There are currently six completed alternative energy projects by the City of Saskatoon, reducing corporate GHG emissions by 51,557 tonnes CO2e per year.
• The maximum daily demand at the Water Treatment Plant has increased between 2010 and 2015, but remains below the levels seen in 2006 and 2007.

7.1.3 Ecological Footprint Report 2014

Decision

*The Committee recommended to City Council that the report be received as information and that it be forwarded to the Saskatoon Environmental Advisory Committee for information.

Background

*The 2014 Ecological Footprint for Saskatoon was 7.38 global hectares per person (or 1.88 million global hectares of land), which was an increase from 7.28 global hectares per person in 2010 and 6.90 global hectares per person in 2003.
*Saskatoon’s 2014 Ecological Footprint was 78 times larger than the geographic area of the city, indicating our consumption demands far exceeded the community’s ability or capacity to produce the materials we used and to absorb the waste we generated.
*The city’s per capita Ecological Footprint grew 1.4% between 2010 and 2014. The areas with increased footprints were Transportation, Goods and Services, and Government Services, while the footprints of the Food and Shelter areas decreased.
*While the Ecological Footprint grew since 2010, the increase is substantially less than the growth observed in the city’s population and economy over the same period.
*A number of civic plans are expected to help reduce Saskatoon’s Ecological Footprint in the future.

7.2.5 Capital Project No. 1617 - Inspection and Condition Assessment of Primary Water Mains - Award of Engineering Services

Decision

*Committee recommended to City Council that the proposal submitted by Pure Technologies Ltd. for construction of access points, installation of permanent monitoring equipment, inspection, and condition assessment of primary water mains at an estimated cost of $2,173,572.45 (including GST and PST) be accepted.

Background

*The City requested proposals from qualified, licensed, professional contractors to construct access points, install flow and pressure sensors, and conduct detailed engineering inspections for 3.86 km of high-priority primary water mains.
*These inspections will provide critical information to the City that will be used to minimize the risk of future wide-spread service disruptions and system depressurization.

7.2.6 Combined Heat and Power Partnership with Saskatoon Health Region for St. Paul's Hospital

Decision

*The Committee recommended to City Council:

1. That the City enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Saskatoon Health Region for the purpose of studying the feasibility of a Combined Heat and Power plant at St. Paul’s Hospital.
2. That the Office of the City Solicitor prepare the Memorandum of Understanding and that the Mayor and City Clerk execute the Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the City of Saskatoon.
3. That the Administration, in conjunction with the Saskatoon Health Region, issue a Request for Proposal to conduct a detailed feasibility study of the project economics and report the findings of the same to City Council.

Background

*A CHP plant has the potential to reduce St. Paul’s Hospital’s operation and maintenance costs to generate building and process heat, and avoid future capital infrastructure replacement costs.
*CHP plants produce both electricity and heat at the same time with less greenhouse gas emissions, and does so more efficiently than producing each separately.