NEWS |
THE OBSERVER | Saturday, January 30, 2010
1
Math doesn’t favour Jacks’ playoff chances..................................................»13 New» produce venture coming
»11 VOLUME 15, ISSUE 04
SATURDAY, January 30, 2010
www.ObserverXtra.com www.ObserverXtra
Large increases will continue for water, sewer rates
Park Manor gets caught up in Olympic fever
Move to full cost-recovery process, massive infrastructure requirements means users will pay higher rates for foreseeable future
photo > Joni miLtenBuRg
STEVE KANNON
CATCH FLAME park manor public school got in the olympic spirit thursday morning with a visit from elmira torchbearer Laurel martin and former olympian Rowan Barrett, who was captain of the 2000 men’s basketball team. above, elaura Clements and katie morden got to hold martin’s olympic torch.
Water and sewer rate increases well above inflation will be the norm for at least the next decade as Waterloo Region looks at making the system self-sustaining. By provincial mandate, municipalities must work towards having user fees cover all operating expenses and, more expensively, future infrastructure upgrades to treatment plants, water pipes and sewers. That means fees rather than general tax revenues will have to help pay for spending in the region estimated at $1.2 billion over the next decade alone. For 2010, the region has pushed up water rates by 6.9 per cent and wastewater 9.9 per cent. As the upper tier looks after those services in Wellesley Township, residents there will see the same increases. In Woolwich, which buys water from the region and runs the distribution systems itself, council has given preliminary approval to water rate hikes of 7.26 per cent, to $1.33 per cubic metre from $1.24 (a jump of $16 to $22 per year) and wastewater increases of 10.1 per cent, to $1.63 per cubic metre from $1.48 ($27 to $36 per year). The Woolwich fees reflect the fact regional billing is the big-
gest-single component of the township’s costs, said director of finance Richard Petherick. Rates will continue to rise in reaction to the infrastructure requirements; upgrades to Kitchener and Waterloo wastewater treatment plants alone are expected to cost $300 million and $120 million respectively. “The main driver of [rate] increases continues to be our capital program,” said Thomas Schmidt, Waterloo Region’s commissioner of transportation and environmental services. Facility upgrades, for instance, are needed to meet new provincial and federal regulations for processing bio-solids and improving the quality of water discharged back into the Grand River system, he explained. The rolling 10-year capital forecast calls for $480 million in spending on the water side, and another $716 million for wastewater projects. Given annual operating revenues of $88 million, those capital spending needs represent significant multiples of the budget. Already pressed under current guidelines – Bill 175, the Sustainable Water and Sewage Systems Act, requires municipalities to run those services on a cost recovery basis. Additional costs
FREE BIRD FEEDER CLEANING WHICH INCLUDES A FREE SEED FILL-UP NEW INTRODUCING MARTHA’S MIXES
!
See WATER page »02
$19 99
SQUIRREL MIX Peanuts, Sun�lowers & Whole Corn
THE SHOPS AT ROXTON | 1 Union St., Elmira | 519.669.1115
ONLY
16KG BAG