(Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Water Bill

P.A. increasing water rates & why it’s needed

Dec 14, 2021 | 1:14 PM

-A previous version claimed P.A.’s council approved three per cent increases for each of the next three years when they only approved the rate for 2022.

The average home in Prince Albert will be paying a bit more for water moving forward.

The city’s council met on Monday and Wednesday where they approved a three per cent water and sewer utility rate increase for next year.

This means households will pay $3.13 more a month or around $38 for the year.

They’ve also proposed three per cent increases for the following two years as well. This means in 2023, the average household could pay around $42 more than what they did in 2022 and roughly $41 more in 2024 than what they paid in 2023.

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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.

If a household cuts back their water consumption, they can offset some of the planned increase.

Councillor Don Cody noted this is a tough but necessary decision.

“No one likes tax increases, no one likes utility increases, no one likes increases of any kind, but you know that’s just the way it goes when you have a city that’s a hundred and somewhat years old.”

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. 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.

Councillor Blake Edwards was arguably the most vocal against the increase, but in the end, agreed the extra revenue will go a long way for the city.

“Correcting or fixing or replacing the pipes in the ground that’s well overdue in many areas.”

The city’s communication team will be starting a new social media campaign, highlighting all the needs for the increase. The hope is residents will be okay with the rise if they understand exactly where their money is going towards.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow