Sewer Use By-law review

The City of Ottawa is conducting a review of its Sewer Use (By-law No. 2003-514).

The Sewer Use By-law regulates wastewater discharges to the sewer system. This ensures prohibited substances are not discharged into the water environment, and industrial facilities do not discharge pollutants that cannot be treated at the City’s wastewater treatment plant. The By-law is also meant to help businesses understand their impact on the environment, their responsibilities, and the resources available to help them comply with the Sewer Use By-law.

Purpose of review

The Sewer Use By-law review targets education and enforcement, strengthens overview, improves transparency and accountability and aims to:

• Align with recent Provincial regulatory changes, including updates related to O. Reg 267/03 for Biosolids and the Guidelines for the Management of Biomedical Waste from 1992;
• Incorporate new references to the Ontario Building Code Act and the Ontario Water Resources Act (Reg 129-04);
• Consider amendments to address industry trends; and,
• Revise current language to enhance industry awareness of compliance expectations.

Get involved

The City of Ottawa is seeking your input as an important part of the Sewer Use By-law review. Please complete the survey below to tell us if you agree or disagree with the proposed changes and share your comments on if and how the proposed changes may affect your operations. The survey takes approximately 10 minutes and will remain open until September 6, 2024.

If you have any additional questions about the survey or the review, please contact SUPbylawreview@Ottawa.ca.