Town proposes gradual water and sewer rate increases
EAGLE STAFF
Local representatives are expected to pass a bylaw soon that would gradually raise water and sewer rates.
The current water and sewer bylaw runs through the end of 2025. The new bylaw would maintain the same annual increases—$1 per water service, $1 per 1,000 gallons, and $1 in monthly sewer charges—unless council makes revisions to the proposal reviewed at their Oct. 20 meeting.
“It’s almost identical to the last one,” said Darcy Olson, the town’s retiring chief administrator. Under the proposed bylaw, the basic monthly charge would rise to $44.75 on Jan. 1, 2026, $45.75 on Jan. 1, 2027, and $46.75 on Jan. 1, 2028. Corresponding water charges would increase to $17, $18, and $19 per month, and sewer rates to $10, $20, and $21 per month, plus 15 per cent of the value of water consumed.
The increases are intended to help the town set aside funds to rebuild the water treatment plant, projected in eight years.
“We’re hoping for a grant; I wouldn’t count on a grant,” Olson said. “I’d rather set money aside.”
Staff estimate rebuilding the plant will cost $10 million. Olson suggested the “solid” monthly increase would be less noticeable than raising taxes to cover the expense.
He added that the cost of chemicals used to treat water “rose significantly” during the pandemic, responding to concerns from councillor Jan Coffey-Olson, who said, “water is essential.”
Olson said the primary purpose of the increases is to save for the upgrade and that an explanation to that effect would go to the Saskatchewan Municipal Board, which functions as the town’s rate review panel. He expects the board to approve the bylaw once council passes it.
The town has some money in its reserves for rebuilding the plant, but funds were used for a new sewage lagoon project. Olson estimated the reserve currently holds about $980,000.
Mayor Trevor Hay suggested staff prepare a document showing councillors’ water usage converted from cubic metres, as shown on bills, to help them understand the impact of the increases.
“We’ll show your billing as a whole and show you what the water’s going to change in the whole billing, not just the water side of it,” Olson said, noting that bills also include garbage and recycling charges.