ST. PAUL – The Town of St. Paul passed the new water and sewer service bylaw during the regular council meeting on July 7. The changes will likely see the average homeowner paying more under the new rate program which comes into effect in 2025.
While the water rates will decrease from $1.60 per cubic metre to $1.31 per cubic metre and sewer rates will decrease from $1.20 per cubic metre to $1 per cubic metre, overall the average consumer might see an increase in their bills due to a combination of changes in the billing, such as new fixed charges and the shift to monthly billing.
New fixed charges include the addition of new $17 water and $9 wastewater capital replacement levy to replace the Town’s water and sewer infrastructure in the future.
Additionally, the fixed sewer charge will also increase from $26.76 every two months to $36.10 every month, which is an effective increase of $13.38 every month ($26.76 x 2) to $54.30 per month.
The $28.78 water flat rate charged every two months will also be removed. Instead, there will be a monthly water service charge depending on the size of a homeowner’s meter.
For example, a 5/8-inch meter will cost a homeowner a monthly service charge of $17. This means they will see an increase in their billing from $14.38 per month to $17 per month, when compared to the $28.78 water flat rate charge ($14.38 x 2) they were previously paying for every two months.
For one-inch meters, their monthly service charge will cost $27.15; a one-and-a-half-inch meter will cost $40.72; a two-inch meter will cost $54.30; and a 4-inch meter will cost $108.60.
But while it seems like property owners with larger meters will pay more, CAO Steven Jeffery, in a previous council meeting discussing the bylaw during the first reading, explained that properties with larger meters like businesses, may in fact see a slight decrease in their water bills.
Jeffery explained that for those with larger meters, their bill is usually more affected by their consumption charges (water rates) and not the fixed charges. So, even if larger meters have higher fixed charges, their higher water consumption effectively offsets the increase in fixed charges.
“They're going to likely see some more stability, if not a slight decrease in some of their water bills, due to the flat rates not necessarily being their highest part of their bill because they're using so much water that their biggest part of their bill is consumption,” said Jeffery.
Water Service disconnection and reconnection
During the council meeting, among the bigger discussions taking place regarding the new bylaw was the disconnection and connection of water service to properties in the community.
Under the new bylaw, if a consumer requests a temporary disconnection due to them being away from the property or they don’t require a water supply, they will still have to pay the associated fees like the capital replacement charges because the infrastructure that provides the water service still remains in place – even if the facilities are not in use.
However, if the service stays disconnected for more than 12 months, it becomes a permanent disconnection, Golnaz Azimi, a consultant for the Town of St. Paul, explained to council.
If this happens, the Town can choose to remove the infrastructure that provides the water service, and the consumer will need to pay for a new connection if they want the service restored.
“So, under a temporary disconnection, they would still pay the capital replacement but not the monthly [flat] fee?” asked Coun. Nathan Taylor.
Chief Financial Officer Mitchel Bachelet responded. “They are obligated to pay monthly water and sewer charges as well,” he said, reiterating it’s because the facilities that provide the water service will still be in place, just not in use.
A consumer basically will simply not be paying for their water consumption.
Taylor said he liked the changes, comparing it to how consumers would still have to pay their power companies the flat fees if they may be elsewhere, like on a vacation for example, but they simply would not have to pay for transmission charges. “If you use no power, you pay zero transmission fee.”
