In 2017, Public Sector Digest (PSD), Canadian Water Network (CWN), and the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) partnered on a national study of municipal asset management practices to identify and assess what data is being collected by Canadian utilities on water, wastewater, and stormwater assets, and how this information is being used to inform operations and long-term planning decisions. The study included a national survey of municipal asset managers and water system managers, as well as in-depth interviews with utilities that had more advanced asset management programs.

The purpose of the study was to better understand current asset data collection and analysis in Canada for water, wastewater, and stormwater systems and to identify strategies to improve operations and planning outcomes.