(Photo 114149300 © Arturs Budkevics | Dreamstime.com)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Water Bill

P.A. households looking at ‘necessary’ increase in water bills over next three years

Dec 3, 2021 | 10:00 AM

Water bills in Prince Albert are set to rise next year, but how much will depend on each household.

City council met on Thursday for another day of budget talks with a big chunk of the discussion focusing on water and sewer utility rates.

Each household is looking at a three per cent increase on the overall fixed amount in their bill.

This has nothing to do with water consumption as every household pays a certain amount each month that goes towards infrastructure needs. The monthly amount depends on the type of infrastructure the household uses.

On average, each household will pay $3.13 more a month or around $38 for the year.

Business and Economy

Investment and development firm that bought Cornerstone acquires South Hill Mall

1h ago

education

Auditor finds non-compliance with international trip, credit card and expense claims at Northlands College

5h ago

Court proceedings

Drugs and weapons bust in Stanley Mission, results in two year sentence

Dec 10, 2024

However, this will only happen if the amount of water consumption stays the same.

“Instead of watering my grass five days a week, I went to three and so I was more conservative with my water,” said Mayor Greg Dionne.

The plan is to increase the fixed amount by three per cent each of the next three years. This means by 2023, the average household would pay around $42 more than what they did in 2022 and roughly $41 more in 2024 than what they paid in 2023.

Why the increase?

In the words of Dionne, the increase is needed.

The majority of the extra revenue will go towards paying off the $9 million debt the city has developed from replacing century-old water infrastructure.

While it may not seem worth the extra money, Dionne explained fixing and replacing water pipes is as important as it gets.

“You see the water come out of your taps, but you don’t see the infrastructure in the ground, it’s quite expensive.”

The debt is expected to drop down to $3 million through the three years of increases.

The rest of the revenue will be used on different infrastructure projects.

This includes updating the water treatment plant and finishing the new city raw water pump house. Past revenue generated from utility bills has paid for the water main replacement program which had a budget of $1.5 million as well as the replacement of old fire hydrants.

Council has also requested the city’s communication team highlight all the projects funded by utility bills through a new campaign.

Nothing is set in stone yet as council still needs to approve the overall budget for 2022, which includes the water and sewer utility rates, at a later date. It’s expected to happen on Dec. 13, 2021.

—

Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com