Water rates will continue to increase across Chatham-Kent but not as quickly as they have in the past.
The Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission (CKPUC) ordered a study to look at water and wastewater rates over the next decade and found that customers will get some relief over the next 10 years because spending on operations, maintenance, and capital projects should be lower until 2029. The report approved at the CKPUC meeting on Monday also stated that the fees will fund lifecycle reserves to upgrade or replace ageing infrastructure in the future.
CKPUC General Manager Tim Sunderland said the rates are flattening out because all of the heavy lifting has been done for a while.
"We are becoming more fully sustainable. So, that's a good news story because every water and wastewater utility needs to achieve full sustainability," said Sunderland. "We're reaching pretty much that goal right now on our projected projects."
Sunderland said all of the utility assets that require regular attention seem to have hit a good plateau as well.
"We have $2 billion in assets for the PUC and we have to collect money for lifecycle replacements on our assets," he added.
Sunderland said CKPUC rates are in the middle when compared to other utilities across the province and should reach the low end as the hikes slow down bit by bit over time.
"We've always been in Chatham-Kent not the lowest and not the highest," said Sunderland. "We're still ranking ourselves in the middle but if you forecast us out 10 years we may be in the lower half rather than the top half."
The average customer's monthly water bill is expected to increase by a total of roughly $5 over the next 10 years from $26 to $31. The average monthly wastewater bill should jump by a total of about $5 in the next decade from $27.50 to $32.86.
The 2020 water and wastewater rate hikes were approved in December. The average monthly water bill will rise by $1.50 this year while the average monthly wastewater bill will jump by $1.
