April 2014
| Business World Magazine | 127
were done, the city was able to create a peck-
ing order of the work that needed to be done
that was already past due – but for whatever
reason had not been done. Elliott said $70
million worth of projects fell under that um-
brella in Cambridge, and initial estimates
were that it would take from 15 to 18 years
to get back a break-even point.
“That’s how big of a monster we have in
the background,” he said. “This innovation
gives us a chance to succeed and a chance to
get ahead of that wave.”
Two issues from the past are forming the
bulk of the water main to-do list for the fu-
ture.
First, the thin-wall cast iron water mains
that were used in the 1970s are now, after 40
years, failing to live up to what was billed as
an 80-to-100-year life span at their installa-
tion. Second, the city has a large volume of
small-diameter – four inches or smaller –
water mains that are performing well materi-
ally, are not providing the flow capacity war-
ranted by increases in demand or required by
more stringent fire-protection standards and
will need replacement.
The city began the improvement initia-
tive in earnest in 2010 and Elliott now fore-
casts that the 15-year program has become a
10-year program.
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
City of Cambridge, Ontario
WHAT:
38th-largest municipality in Canada
– 126,748 residents – according to
2011 census
WHERE:
Southwest Ontario, 100 kilometers
southwest of Toronto
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