CSA W217:25

Preface This is the first edition of CSA W217, Ontario wastewater management system. The purpose of this Standard is to provide requirements for the quality and environmental management of wastewater systems. It defines a risk-based process for decision-makers responsible for the operation, maintenance, and management of wastewater systems. The idea for preparing this Standard was initiated by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, and the Water Environment Association of Ontario, and with the subsequent support of the Ontario Good Roads Association. This Standard is intended to address the needs of owners and operators of wastewater systems, and the increasing trend to develop and implement quality and environmental management systems. CSA Group acknowledges that the development of this Standard was made possible, in part, by the financial support of the City of Barrie, the City of Greater Sudbury, the City of Guelph, the City of Hamilton, the City of London, the City of Ottawa, the City of Port Colborne, Clearford Water Systems Inc., the District Municipality of Muskoka, the Greater Toronto Sewer and Watermain Contractors Association, the Ontario Clean Water Agency, the Ontario Good Roads Association, the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association, the Regional Municipality of York, Utilities Kingston, and the Water Environment Association of Ontario. This Standard was prepared by the Technical Committee on Ontario Management Standard for Wastewater System, under the jurisdiction of the Strategic Steering Committee on Natural Resources, and has been formally approved by the Technical Committee. Scope 1.1 General This Standard provides a framework for an organization to enhance its performance quality and environmental management of wastewater systems. It is intended for use by organizations seeking to manage their wastewater systems’ performance in a systematic manner that contributes to system integrity and sustainability. This Standard provides organizations with a framework to facilitate the ability to consistently and reliably collect, treat, and manage wastewater, and associated environmental inputs and outputs, in a way that meets applicable legislative, regulatory, and the organization’s own requirements, and enhances environmental protection through the effective application and continual improvement of the WWMS. 1.2 Exclusions 1.2.1 General This Standard is not intended to apply to initial planning, new development, new expansions and construction, or site closure/remediation. It is not intended to apply to stormwater-only systems, which are covered in CSA W211. The dotted line boxes in Figure 1 involve activities (such as watershed planning, environmental assessments, engineering design for new development and expansions, and construction) that are out of scope of this Standard. Out-of-scope items are noted for awareness only, but organizations may include those items to fit their scope needs. 1.2.2 Financial This Standard does not specify financial, accounting, or related technical requirements for managing specific groups of assets. 1.3 Application This Standard applies to the operation, management, and maintenance of wastewater systems. It draws elements from but is not limited to a) Ontario’s Drinking Water Quality Management Standard; b) ISO 9001; c) ISO 14001; and d) ISO 31000. 1.4 Operating authority and operational plan This Standard requires the identification of an operating authority, which could also be the owner for some wastewater systems. Where an operating authority is operating multiple wastewater systems for a single owner, the operating authority may develop a WWMS that combines the components that are common for all wastewater systems. Wastewater system owners may hire a third party, public or private, as the operating authority for their wastewater system or portions thereof, but an owner cannot delegate its legal obligations to another entity. The operational plan for the wastewater system(s) could contain these common components or could reference separate documented information that would be available to users of the operational plan. 1.5 Terminology In this Standard, "shall" is used to express a requirement, i.e., a provision that the user is obliged to satisfy in order to comply with the Standard; "should" is used to express a recommendation or that which is advised but not required; and "may" is used to express an option or that which is permissible within the limits of the Standard. Notes accompanying clauses do not include requirements or alternative requirements; the purpose of a note accompanying a clause is to separate from the text explanatory or informative material. Notes to tables and figures are considered part of the standard and may be written as requirements. Annexes are designated normative (mandatory) or informative (non-mandatory) to define their application. 1.6 Operating principle Similar to most management system standards, this Standard follows the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle as an operating principle for continual improvement. Clauses 4.1 to 4.18 correspond to the Plan-Do cycle and Clauses 4.19 to 4.21 correspond to the Check-Act cycle.