A summary report:
Durham Region Sanitary Sewer Services policy
Responsibility for Sanitary Sewer Services in Durham Region
Effective July 1, 2022, the limit of the Region’s responsibility for sanitary sewer service connections in the Region of Durham shifted to the property line.
Region promotes alternate Warranty (Repair) Service
Residents of the region can consider contracting for service line repair as offered by Service Line Warranties Canada (SLWC). A comprehensive summary of information is provided below:
Background
The Region’s Sanitary System By-Law 90-2003 has shifted the limit of responsibility to the property line for the repair of sanitary sewer service connections. This shift includes endorsing Service Line Warranties Canada (SLWC) to provide warranty services to property owners on private property.
Agreement between the Region and SLWC
The Region is endorsing SLWC to provide warranty services for residential private water and wastewater infrastructure. Residents are responsible for repair and maintenance of water and wastewater infrastructure located on their private properties.
Two-year term with option to adding five more years
The Agreement with SLWC is a two year term with the option to extend the term an additional five. Pricing of the warranty plan may be adjusted by the Vendor subject to the approval of the Region.
Royalty rebate rejected
SLWC offered the Region a five percent royalty for the use of the Region’s logo and program endorsement. The Region opted out of the five percent royalty in exchange with providing those monies back to the property owners as savings on the cost of the warranty (lower monthly rates).
Alternate company possibilities
The agreement allows the Region the opportunity to endorse other warranty providers for same or similar services as those provided by SLWC.
Service Line Warranties Canada
SLWC was founded in 1993 in the UK and is the largest international service provider for service line warranty programs. Currently it operates in Canada, the USA, the UK, France, Spain, and Japan and SLWC is the only company in Canada that offers this type of warranty program.
The basic plan offered
SLWC offers the warranty plans to property owners for repairs and replacements to buried water and sanitary services outside of the Region’s limit of responsibility for a fixed monthly cost.
Repair services companies
Repair services provided by SLWC are completed by private contractors and not Regional forces. SLWC contractors are fully vetted, licensed and insured. Currently there are 63 municipalities in Ontario that endorse SLWC.
Endorsement of SLWC
The Region’s endorsement of SLWC allows effective marketing of the program to residential property owners subject to Region approval. All costs to marketing relating costs are to be underwritten by SLWC completely.
Indemnity for liability claims
SWLC is required to indemnify the Region from any liability claims that may arise as a result of their agreement with property owners and includes the Region’s corporate endorsement of the warranty program offered by SLWC and use of the Region’s logo.
Reporting responsibility
SLWC is to provide the Region with reports that enable staff to continuously monitor the services provided by SLWC to the property owners to ensure that the program is meeting the customer service levels and performance expectations of the Region.
Warranty Program – optional
The warranty protection plans offered by SLWC are entirely optional and there is no obligation for property owners to purchase the warranty plans. The warranty contract will be between the property owner and SLWC and the option to enter into an agreement with SLWC is completely at the discretion of the property owner.
The warranty coverage provides property owners with repair services for their buried infrastructure over and above the typical damage claims which may or may not be covered by their home insurance, and where there is no coverage for restoration services.
The scope of SLWC service coverage for water and sanitary sewer service connections will be from the property line to the point where the service connection enters the house foundation, both of which include any service under a concrete floor. The scope includes locating, excavating, and repairing or replacing as required by the water and/or sanitary service connections including any damage as a result of thawing of frozen services.
The warranty covers any emergency repair required due to a reduction in performance caused by normal wear and tear. Also included is a one-year warranty for workmanship and quality of all repair and restoration work performed.
Financials
The cost if the service warranty plan is a monthly flat-fee subscription-based pricing structure with no deductibles or any additional fees to customers. The property owner may still be responsible for additional Regional charges such as isolating a water service to complete a repair.
The costs
The service warranty currently costs $6/month with a coverage limit of $5,000 per occurrence for water services and $8/month with a coverage limit of $8,000 per occurrence for sanitary services with basic site restoration.
Enhanced site restoration
The Region restores the site to grade only and does not resod, repave the driveway or reinstall landscaping features such as interlock, retaining walls, etc. SLWC has a plan that includes enhanced site restoration that provides for additional restoration of the site that is not provided by the Region.
An enhanced site restoration plan would cost $10/month with a coverall limit of $8,000. Basic site restoration services provided by SLWC to the affected area will be limited to filling trenches, mounding (to allow for settling), raking and seeding (weather permitting) and exclude sod. If slab cutting within the foundation walls is necessary to repair a broken sewer line, the resulting trench will be filled with gravel and covered with concrete.
Warranty program for inside the foundation walls
SLWC also offers a warranty program for inside the foundation walls. The internal plumbing warranty costs $9/month with a coverage limit of $3,000 per occurrence.
[This material has been rewritten for summary purposes and is not binding on SLWC or the Region in any way.]
