In Canada, all levels of government share certain responsibilities for monitoring and managing municipal wastewater. Together they are in charge of wastewater collection, treatment, testing, and facility performance.

Municipal Responsibilities

Municipal governments have a mandate to provide sewage treatment, and are responsible for regulating and operating sewage facilities. Therefore, they have the most direct responsibility for wastewater. They have statutory control over discharges into sewers and must ensure their facilities meet provincial and federal pollution standards. Many municipal governments have used their statutory power to pass sewer use by-laws for the improved management at source and the reduction of effluent toxicity. The bylaws generally state acceptable pollutant concentrations for wastewater releases and prohibit specific wastes from being discharged.

Provincial Responsibilities

The provincial governments have the ability to regulate sewage through provincial waste management and environmental protection laws. The province is responsible for ensuring environment impact assessments are undertaken and followed. Wastewater system operators must seek approval in the form of a provincial or territorial permit, licence or certificate. These require specific quality and quantity of the discharge values and overall facility operation including maintenance and treatment specifications to be met.

Wastewater Management in Ontario

Wastewater Management in Québec

Federal Responsibilities

Apart from providing funding for infrastructure through infrastructure programs, the federal government is not directly responsible for managing municipal wastewater. However, the federal government is responsible for making sure the federal Fisheries Act is implemented with respect to fisheries habitat and non-deleterious discharges, and to enforce the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, which governs the release of toxic substances into the environment. They are also responsible for ensuring there are no trans-boundary pollution problems (e.g. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement).

Fisheries Act

The Fisheries Act is the most important federal legislation for the protection of Canadian waters under the jurisdiction of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.  Key areas of governance include granting of fishery leases and licences, construction of fish-ways, fish habitat protection and pollution prevention, and the harvesting of marine plants.  Of particular importance are sections 35 and 36, which forbid the destruction of fish habitat and the deposit of a deleterious substance into waters frequented by fish.  

For more information see Fisheries Act - What does the law require?

Canadian Environmental Protection Act

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA, 1999), assented to September 14, 1999. The provisions of the CEPA, 1999 concern primarily:

• Pollution prevention;
• Establishing new methods for investigating and assessing substances;
• Creating obligations with respect to the substances that the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health have determined to be toxic or potentially toxic within the meaning of the Act.

With respect to wastewater, it also covers international air and water pollution, nutrients whose release into water can cause excessive growth of aquatic vegetation, environmental emergencies, the effects of government activities on the environment, in terms of federal and aboriginal lands, the dumping of waste and other matter at sea; and the export and import of waste.

The law also provides for the gathering of information for research, creating inventories of data, and developing objectives, guidelines and codes of practice.

For more information see the Canadian Environmental Protection Act

Adapted from Environment Canada's The State of Municipal Effluents in Canada