A private report says Toronto's archaic sewage system will crumble if funding is not provided by all three tiers of government for upgrades.
The one-month study, released on Tuesday, was commissioned by the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario.
The report suggests provincial and federal grants for upgrades to the GTA sewer system are virtually non-existent due to political inaction.
"Sadly enough, the lack of revision and leadership in long-term policy and the existence of politics leave them (the engineers)/> short of money," University of Toronto professor Tamir E. El-Diraby told CTV News on Tuesday.
Experts warn problems with the city's water system could escalate if maintenance funds don't become available.
"Before, the cities were very dependent on provincial and federal funding and when these were downloaded to the cities, they didn't have much of a plan to cope with the deterioration of infrastructure," El-Diraby said.
In 2007 the City of Toronto raised water rates by 10.8 per cent with rates to increase by another 9 per cent every year until 2012.
"The recent introduction of full-cost pricing by the province and the cities is helping, but you have to remember that water is a special commodity," El-Diraby said.
"It's a commodity that everyone consumes and hence they (citizens) should pay for it, but it's also a public commodity that's related to public health. The federal and provincial governments should contribute to the funding."
Experts suggest a more productive way to raise the desperately needed funds and reduce the strain on the current water system is to install water meters on every residence in the city.
"If you're undercharging for water, which is actually what's happening every where, people over consume. If you over consume than you have to have larger treatment plants," Trent University economics professor Harry Kitchen said during a press conference on Tuesday.
The report suggests almost 20 per cent of the city's water infrastructure is more than 80 years old.
Currently, at least one water main breaks every day during the winter months in Toronto.
With a report from CTV's Desmond Brown