Water Saving and Protection Incentives For Businesses

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

• A water-use profile of your facility with customized recommendations of potential water-saving opportunities
• Information to help develop a business case for replacements or upgrades
• Up to $50,000 for eligible water-saving retrofits
• Wastewater quality improvement plan, if applicable

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

Get started! Find out if your business is eligible for one or more water-saving programs 

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

Get 50% off the cost of replacing inefficient equipment up to the maximum of the incentive value, and a total combined incentive of $10,000 

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

Get started! Find out if your business is eligible for one or more of our water-saving programs 

If your property has been identified as a possible risk to a drinking water source, 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, only minimal action is needed thanks to existing good environmental practices.

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 contact Access York (Monday to Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) at 1-877-464-9675 or @email  

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

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 stories 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 stories
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:

• A Regional Centre in accordance with the York Region Official Plan and corresponding local official plan and/or
• 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
• 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. 

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 stories 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 stories
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