Extreme rainfall caused by climate change could cost municipalities in Ontario an additional $700 million a year to maintain stormwater and wastewater infrastructure, the province’s financial watchdog warns.
In a new report released on Tuesday, the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) says severe weather will cost municipalities millions more in the coming decades if local governments do not spend the money now to keep aging infrastructure in a state of good repair.
“When you don’t adapt your infrastructure, then you leave it vulnerable to things like overland flooding, as a result of the infrastructure not being able to get the water out of there,” Peter Weltman, the province’s financial accountability officer, said on Tuesday.
