Water Saving and Protection Incentives For Businesses

Benefits

Participating high water-use industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) businesses will receive:

• A water-use profile of the facility
• Customized recommendations of potential water saving and water reuse opportunities
• Information to help develop a business case for replacements or upgrades
• Wastewater quality improvement plan, if applicable
• Access to an incentive of up to $50,000 based on installed eligible retrofits

To Participate

To be eligible, the specified facility must be:

• Located in York Region
• Connected to a municipal water supply, located within York Region
• Classified by York Region as an industrial, commercial or institutional (ICI) business

The applicant must:

• Have a water account administered by a York Region municipality for the specified facility
• Have participated in the pre-audit and make improvements/retrofits within the last three years to qualify for the ICI Capacity Buyback incentive
• Submit the completed application form for each part of the program to York Region

Please note this program is on a first-come, first-served basis and is subject to the availability of annual program funding.

How to Apply

1. Complete ICI Water Consumption Evaluation online form to determine if this program is right for your business
2. Download the ICI Capacity Buyback Incentive Program PDF Application Form (fillable or printable) to your computer, complete and sign the terms and conditions
3. Save or scan your completed form and email it to @email

The Program Process

1. York Region will notify the applicant in writing of acceptance of the free consultation
2. York Region or its agent will conduct the audit at the facility and identify current water use and potential water savings through process changes or new technologies
3. York Region staff will follow up after the pre-audit report is issued to review the report and recommended opportunities
4. Facilities which participated in the pre-audit within the last three years will qualify for the ICI Capacity Buyback incentive
5. Once eligible retrofit(s) are completed at the facility, York Region or its agent will conduct the post-audit to verify the post-retrofit water savings
6. York Region will issue a one-time incentive of up to 50 per cent of the cost to undertake the process changes to a maximum of $50,000, the incentive will be calculated based on:
   • A one-time incentive of $0.75 per litre of water saved in a single average day through water saving retrofits;
   • A one-time incentive of $2.00 per litre of water saved in a single average day through water reuse retrofits; and
   • A one-time incentive of $200 per meter (to a maximum of 5 meters or $1,000) to have sub-meters installed permanently at the facility when recommended

York Region takes no responsibility on the accuracy of the estimated rebate and payback period associated with the recommended measures.

Financial incentives are available for businesses that replace their inefficient equipment with new water-efficient equipment.

What incentives are available?

Reduce your utility bills and get an incentive of up to 50 per cent of the cost of the retrofits.  

*Each incentive is 50% of equipment cost up to the maximum of the incentive value and a total combined incentive of $10,000.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the program, the facility must be:

• Located in York Region
• Connected to a municipal water supply, located within York Region
• Classified by York Region as an industrial, commercial or institutional (ICI) building
• Upgrading an existing piece of equipment or adding a sub meter

How to Apply

1. Complete ICI Water Consumption Evaluation online form to determine if this program is right for you
2. Replace inefficient equipment with new water efficient models or add sub meter to existing infrastructure
3. Download the Water Efficiency Equipment Replacement Incentive PDF Application Form (fillable or printable) to your computer, complete and sign the terms and conditions
4. Save or scan your completed form and email it to @email

The Water Smart Irrigation Professional (WSIP) program is an industry-developed certification program created by Landscape Ontario in partnership with York Region and the Region of Peel. WSIP Certified contractors can optimize existing irrigation systems to save businesses money and water while keeping their lawn healthy and beautiful.

Benefits for Businesses

Water Smart Irrigation Assessments are a way to identify potential water and money-saving opportunities for your system by detecting damaged or leaking system hardware.

Assessments can also help maximize the life of your system by identifying required maintenance and upgrades and calculating the associated return on investment and ensure your landscape continues to look great and save money while your system operates more efficiently.

Book an assessment today

For a full list of certified contractors, visit the Horticultural Trades Association.

Water Smart Irrigation Professional Training and Certification

The Water Smart Irrigation Professional program provides irrigation companies with specialized training and certification to provide “Water Smart” irrigation system efficiency and maintenance services.

Participants will learn about the new tools and techniques used to optimize irrigation systems for ideal performance with minimum water usage. The WSIP program has recently expanded and is now province wide. Visit Landscape Ontario for more information on applying to the WSIP program.

Has your property been identified by York Region staff as having a possible risk to drinking water sources? To manage and reduce identified risks to municipal drinking water sources, you may be asked to complete projects as required under the Clean Water Act, 2006.

There is an incentive program to help reduce the financial impact of these projects. In many cases, businesses are already good environmental stewards and only require minimal risk management measures.

How does it work?

Eligible projects will be funded at 85 per cent of the total cost of the project to a maximum of $10,000 (including applicable taxes).

Properties are limited to a maximum total of $25,000 for all eligible projects over the life of the program.

After eligibility is confirmed, a funding agreement will be drafted based on competitive cost estimates.

Eligibility

To be considered for funding, eligible businesses must be:

• Industrial, commercial (including mixed use) or institutional properties
• Located within Wellhead Protection Areas A through C
• Engaging in activities which would be considered a threat to drinking water under the Clean Water Act, 2006

To determine if your property is located in a Wellhead Protection Area, please visit york.ca/SPMap

To find out if you’re eligible for the Source Water Protection Incentive Program, or if you are a business or farm in one of these areas and have not been notified by York Region staff, please call 1-877-464-9675 ext. 75139.

Learn more about how York Region protects water at the source.

Success Story

See how Supreme Auto Collision Centre protects water in this video

York Region promotes residential green development by offering two incentive programs, Sustainable Development Through LEED® and the Servicing Incentive Program (SIP).

Sustainable Development Through LEED®

The Sustainable Development Through LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program provides water and wastewater servicing capacity assignment credits (up to 30 per cent) for new residential high-rise buildings four storeys or higher. To qualify, developments must meet specific objectives in:

• Water conservation
• Wastewater flow reduction
• Stormwater management
• Transit-oriented design
• Three-stream waste management
• Construction resource and waste management
• LEED® certification

Eligibility

In order to participate, all of the following must be met:

1. The proposed development is a high density residential use and has a minimum building height of four storeys
2. The proposed high density residential development is permitted under all applicable Regional Official Plan policies
3. The proposed development is situated within a local municipality that has formally advised York Region that it will participate in the program
4. The project has been registered with the Canada Green Building Council under the LEED® Canada for New Construction 2009 or version 4 of the rating system for minimum Silver level achievement
5. To support Regional Official Plan policies, development is to be located within:
   1. A Regional Centre in accordance with the York Region Official Plan and corresponding local official plan and/or
   2. An approved Community/Secondary Plan along those segments of Yonge Street, Highway 7 and Davis Drive identified as Regional Corridor in the York Region Official Plan and/or
   3. An approved Local Centre and/or Local Corridor, within the local official plan

How to Apply

For full details, please review the LEED® implementation guide to learn about eligibility and how to submit an application package.

Servicing Incentive Program

The Servicing Incentive Program (SIP) program provides water and wastewater servicing capacity assignment credits (up to 20 per cent) for new residential grade-related developments that are a maximum of three storeys in height.

To qualify, developments must meet specific objectives in water efficiency and wastewater flow reduction.

Eligibility

In order to participate, all of the following must be met:

1. The proposed development is a residential grade-related project with homes that have a maximum height of three storeys
2. The proposed development is permitted under all applicable Regional Official Plan policies
3. The proposed development is situated within a local municipality that has formally advised York Region that it will participate in the Program

How to Apply

For full details, please review the SIP implementation guide to learn about eligibility and how to submit an application package.

Contact

For more information, please call Corporate Services Department, c/o the Manager, Programs and Process Improvement 1-877-464-9675 Ext. 71506