Case Stories
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The city has a program that replaces the service from the water main up to the homeowner’s property line at no charge if the lead concentration is more than 10 parts per billion. Ms B contacted Toronto Water in December 2007 to have her water tested. She did not qualify for the upgrade. However, city staff left her a voice message saying she would be placed on a list to have her water service upgraded in a year.
In 2009, when Ms B called about her status, she was told there was no record of her call, and that in fact she would not get her water service upgraded. Ms B, who had kept the message, contacted her councillor who referred her to the Ombudsman’s office. When city staff heard Ms B’s 2007 voicemail, they explained that due to the high volume of requests, the city had subsequently changed its policy and no longer did upgrades for homes below the threshold.
Result: Ombudsman staff persuaded the city to replace Ms B’s water pipe in light of its original undertaking. As with Ms D and her TTC tokens, the city has a responsibility to ensure current information about programs and services is routinely communicated to the public.
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