The Pipes Under Our Feet

Municipal Affairs
Sep 29
2 min read

Welcome to Municipal Affairs.

Today we’re diving into an issue that sits beneath our feet—literally.

Across Canada, thousands of kilometres of asbestos-cement water mains still carry drinking water to homes and businesses.

These pipes were once a trusted, cost-effective material choice, widely installed between the 1940s and 1970s. But decades later, they’re aging, they’re breaking down, and they’re raising serious questions about safety, infrastructure planning, and public health.

The central concern is this: as asbestos-cement pipes deteriorate, they may release asbestos fibres into the water we drink.

While Canada banned most asbestos use years ago, these legacy pipes remain buried in our municipal systems.

Some cities know exactly where their AC mains are. Others have only partial records. And in many cases, the pipes are now approaching or exceeding their expected lifespan, with break and failure rates climbing faster than with other pipe materials.

Our guest today, Julian Branch, has been at the forefront of bringing this issue to public attention.

A former journalist turned advocate, Julian has spent years researching the science, tracking municipal records, and pressing governments to act. He points to peer-reviewed studies and government reports—some from the National Research Council—that warn of fibre release and urge more testing.

He argues municipalities need to adopt clear monitoring protocols, including regular water sampling and integrity inspections, so we can truly understand the scale of the risk.

At the same time, there’s a financial reality. Replacing kilometres of underground pipe is no small task.

For a mid-sized Canadian city, the costs could reach into the hundreds of millions, and yet the longer municipalities wait, the greater the repair bills from repeated breaks, not to mention the uncertainty for public health.

So today we’ll ask: What first prompted Julian’s advocacy? How widespread are these pipes in Canadian municipalities today, and which cities are most at risk?

We’ll also look at solutions—what monitoring practices should be in place, what replacement strategies make sense, and what role provincial and federal governments should play in helping municipalities act before this quiet infrastructure problem becomes a larger crisis.

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