As the municipal infrastructure asset management process evolves, it will be critical to ensure that all community assets that may provide municipal services—lakes, wetlands, green spaces and trees as well as roads, bridges and buildings—are appropriately identified and managed.
Local governments1 across Canada are faced with significant asset management challenges. Many of the services they provide—including water and wastewater, waste removal, transportation, and environmental services—depend, in large part, on engineered infrastructure assets that are in need of renewal. Meanwhile, the effects of climate change are expected to put even more strain on these assets and on local government budgets. To provide community services in a cost effective and sustainable manner now and in to the future, local governments are looking for ways to improve management of the critical assets that supply these services. Asset management—the process of inventorying a community’s existing assets, determining the current state of those assets, and preparing and implementing a plan to maintain or replace those assets—allows municipalities to make informed decisions regarding a community’s assets and finances.