Backgrounder: Water/Sewer Rates
YOU ASKED: WHY HAVE MY WATER AND SEWER RATES CHANGED?
- Costs of treating water and sewage have increased drastically.
- Upgrades are required to continue supplying clean, safe water and improve the environment.
- Water usage increases dramatically in the summer months in the City's east and west, where lots are typically larger and lawn watering is a common practice.
THE CONSERVATION CONCEPT
Water conservation is becoming increasingly important across Canada and many cities are moving towards structuring the cost of municipal water in a manner that encourages water conservation.
The new rate structure will allow for some outdoor water use during the peak season, but still encourage conservation.
High demands on the water system also creates the need to encourage less water consumption during the peak times of 6 - 10 p.m. throughout the City.
Rate increases vary across the City to ensure that the funds are available to be reinvested in your area.
OTHER SERVICE CHARGES
There have also been rate increases to other miscellaneous services, such as seasonal requests to connect or disconnect services. New charges may now be applied to some of the services Utilities Kingston had previously provided free of charge.
YOU ASKED: WHERE DOES THIS MONEY GO?
Reinvesting in improvements to the City of Kingston's water and sewer systems is necessary to provide a constant supply of safe, clean water and improve the environment.
Utilities Kingston has a number of projects planned and already under construction:
- Installing tanks to hold sewage during high rainfalls and snowmelts to reduce overflows of sewage into the waterways.
- Installing large sewers to intercept sewage from smaller sewer systems and transport it to the River Street Pumping Station.
- Increasing capacity to pump sewage from River Street Pumping Station to the Ravensview Treatment facility.
- Installing three new pipes under the Cataraqui River. Two will move sewage from City Central to the Ravensview Treatment facility and the other will move water from the King Street Water Purification Plant to residents east of the river. The existing pipes are over 50 years old.
- Upgrading the Ravensview Treatment facility to provide a second filtering process for sewage to improve the quality of discharge back to the water.
- Increasing capacity at the Ravensview Treatment facility to accommodate growth and development in the City.
- Constructing a new water tower to improve water pressure and increase storage in the City's west end.
- Replacing aging water mains, storm and sanitary sewers in conjunction with road improvement projects. Examples:
- Montreal Street, (currently taking place)
- Division Street between Fraser Street and Elliott Avenue, (scheduled for later this summer)
Utilities Kingston has received and will continue to seek opportunities for federal and provincial funding. Upgrades to accommodate growth and development in the City are offset by charges to developers. Still, this leaves a major portion of this work to be funded by rate increases.
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