Item - 2025.IE19.10

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council direct the General Manager, Toronto Water and General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services to establish and formalize roles, responsibilities, and deployment procedures for the HTO To Go Water Trailer program as part of the City’s Heat Relief Strategy response protocol, with an implementation target of end of the first quarter of 2025.

2. City Council direct the General Manager, Toronto Water to establish and administer a contract with a third-party water trailer service provider to supply water trailer services for deployment at City sites, as selected by Toronto Shelter and Support Services, that meet the operational and logistical requirements for water trailer deployment as part of the City’s Heat Relief Strategy.

3. City Council direct the Chief Procurement Officer to procure two 10-tap stainless steel water trailers utilizing a limited solicitation process, to solicit competitive bids from three or more suppliers, through an invitational solicitation process, not exceeding a maximum amount of $220,000 inclusive of all taxes and contingencies.

4. City Council amend the Toronto Water 2025 Capital Budget and 2026-2033 Capital Plan to include the funding in the amount of $220,000 inclusive of all taxes and contingencies for the purchase of two 10-tap stainless steel water trailer to be fully funded from unspent funds in the 2025 Capital Budget for Toronto Water, to be identified through a future variance report.

5. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Water to report through the 2026 budget process to include the future year operating budget impacts required for staff resources and to attend, house, transport and maintain the two new trailers.

6. City Council request the Mayor to include operational funding for the two 10-tap stainless steel water trailers in the future budget allocations for Toronto Water.

This report responds to City Council's direction to explore options for expanding the HTO To Go Water Trailer Program (the Program) and the City’s network of water bottle filling stations to both align with the City of Toronto's Heat Relief Strategy by improving access to drinking water for vulnerable populations during heat warnings and ensure an equitable distribution of Program resources at events across all Community Council Areas.

Toronto Water is expanding the criteria for the Program to ensure a more balanced distribution of water trailers at events across the City's Community Council Areas. Additionally, Toronto Water will collaborate with Toronto Shelter and Support Services Division to support the City's Heat Relief Strategy.

Toronto Water recommends that the Program's expansion be realized by contracted services on an as-needed basis. This approach makes efficient use of existing City resources by enabling Toronto Water to respond to emergencies as required, while continuing to attend scheduled events.

Parks and Recreation is upgrading old water fountains with new water bottle filling features as part of the Back on Track initiatives and will continue to expand the water bottle filling network on Parks and Recreation spaces, where opportunities allow.

The expansion of the Program does not require participation / program delivery from Solid Waste Management Services.

The recommended option anticipates the addition of the use of a third-party service contract for water trailer services.

Annual contracted services costs are estimated at $25,000. This estimate is based on the cost of renting one water trailer for 14 days of service per year. A one-time cost of $5,000 is required for the purchase of supplies to connects rental trailers to the hydrants. 

Costs associated with the implementation of the recommended option are included in the 2025 Staff Prepared Operating Budget for Toronto Water. Any additional funding required to support the expanded HTO To Go Water Trailer Program in the future will be considered through future year Budget processes.

The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer has reviewed this report and agrees with the financial impact information.