Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Residential water bills in Edmonton are going up about four per cent and commercial bills are going up by about eight per cent, but the increases would have been higher if not for $66-million discount from EPCOR. In a report to Edmonton councillors on March 25, EPCOR expects the average residential water bill to increase by 3.7 per cent in 2022, 2.1 per cent in 2023 and 4.2 per cent in 2024. That means paying $102 a month in 2021, $106 in 2022, $108 in 2023 and $113 in 2024.
Iqalummiut will not have to pay their water bills for the month of November as city councillors voted in favour of providing a 100 per cent rebate due to the water emergency. The move will cost the City of Iqaluit approximately $1.7 million, money council hopes the Government of Nunavut will cover. The Government of Nunavut had imposed a do-not-consume water advisory from Oct. 12 to Dec. 10 due to fuel contamination in the city’s water supply.
Iqaluit residents could get a break on their water bills as they continue to deal with fuel contamination that's prevented them from being able to drink their tap water. Mayor Kenny Bell says in a social media post that he asked city staff for a "request for decision" on a water rebate ahead of this coming Tuesday's council meeting. Bell posted the resulting document on Saturday, which calls for a full rebate for the month of October for customers who receive their water via the city's pipes, as well as those who receive water from trucks.
Hamilton city councillors say Alectra Utilities has blindsided them after the massive utility says it's too busy to continue delivering local water bills. The utility, which formed in 2017 when Horizon Utilities merged with four others, says it has too large an area to cover and too much to do to keep handling water billing, city staff said last week. So, even though Hamilton will pay Alectra $5.6 million this year to deliver water bills, Alectra says it can't do it after the contract expires in December 2024.
The City of Barrie recently introduced a new financial assistance support program to help offset water/wastewater bill costs for low-income households in Barrie. The program allows successful applicants to be credited a portion of their water/wastewater bill back to them. “Council understands that with more people working at home, learning at home, and caring for people at home, water bills have become a larger part of people’s monthly costs,” said Mayor Jeff Lehman. “Through this new support program for low-income households, the City can give a hand to those struggling with the cost of living.”
The City of Humboldt has given a one-time discount to a household who reported an unusually large water bill in June at around $750 – 113.3 cubic metres. Peter Bergquist, Humboldt’s director of public works and utilities, said instances like this one typically happen between three to five times a year. When occurrences like this are reported, the city uses an informal policy of a one-time discount which includes a discount that gives the excess water consumption at Saskwater cost (currently $3.8063/m³) rather than the retail charged (retail $5.28/m³), as well as a discount that gives the excess sanitary consumption at $0/m³, rather than the retail charge of $0.77/m³.
Aging, leaky and crumbling pipes cost the average household in Ontario up to a third more on its monthly water utility bills, according to a new report by a think-tank created by a consortium of provincial construction unions and contractors. "It's a huge amount of waste, not only in the amount of water being spilled, but also in the energy being used to pressurize these pipes," said Tamer El-Diraby, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Toronto and the study's lead author.
The City of Regina is seeking input from residents on how to improve affordability for low-income property taxpayers and water utility customers in a new online survey. “Regina strives to be an inclusive, attractive and sustainable community where residents of all income levels can thrive,” said Mayor Sandra Masters in a recent news release. “We want to address affordability in a meaningful way, and we encourage all Regina residents to share their feedback on program options and their level of support for affordability programs by taking the survey.”
Cesanek is one of hundreds of residents in the municipality of Central Elgin who are angry over rising water bills. He said that in the 7½ years since he moved to Belmont, Ont., his water bill has risen more than 50 per cent. "Most of our conversations with the neighbours are either about COVID or water, and we're equally annoyed at both." That annoyance is palpable in Port Stanley, where signs sprout from lawns saying "stop the madness" and "no water rate increase."
According to Zurn Canada, clean water shortages are a global crisis, and the average Canadian uses approximately 250 litres of water per day through flushing toilets, showering, drinking and cleaning, but according to a 2018 study, this makes up less than 15 per cent of Canada’s water usage; industrial properties and public facility plumbing accounts for more of the used water.
With some of the highest municipal water rates in Canada, a University of Regina (U of R) researcher says the city should start thinking about affordability programs for low-income families. “The international benchmarks tell us we should be in trouble now, because people who are living at the Statistics Canada low-income cut off are already paying more than the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development) says they should be paying,” Jim Warren said in an interview Thursday.
In 2016, town council approved an average increase of 53 per cent to the water and sewer rates. About 900 addresses within town limits — homes that are required to be connected to the municipal water system — were hit by the rate surge. The increase was an unpopular move. In Bancroft, incomes average $33,460, which is about 30 per cent lower than the provincial average of $47,915.
EPCOR needs money to lower the lead levels in Edmonton’s drinking water – a cost that may wind up on residents water bills. Although officials from EPCOR and the city said the drinking water is safe, levels must be reduced to meet new federal regulations. Earlier this month Health Canada cut acceptable lead levels in half, from 10 micrograms per litre to five.
City administrators have developed a pilot project to help the poorest Calgarians with their water bills. But a city council committee has plenty of questions and defeated the proposal, at least for now. According to the city, 2,300 people who are more than 90 days in arrears on their bills currently owe the city nearly $1 million.
