Water and Wastewater Bills Higher Than Other Municipalities

Water and wastewater aren't profit centres for the Town. We operate on a cost-recovery basis, meaning what residents pay goes toward delivering these services, maintaining our systems and planning for future repairs and upgrades.

Every municipality is a little different when it comes to how they get their water and what it costs to treat and deliver it. Here in New Tecumseth, we rely on a combination of wells and water brought in through a 57-kilometre pipeline from Collingwood. We also have three wastewater treatment plants to operate and maintain. None of that is inexpensive, especially when you factor in provincial regulations, testing, treatment and the people needed to keep everything running safely.

Something worth pointing out is that, before the recent rate increases, New Tecumseth actually had some of the lowest water and wastewater rates in Simcoe County and among comparable municipalities. Even with the increases, we're moving closer to the middle of the pack.

We also have a projected $141 million shortfall in funding for water and wastewater infrastructure over the next 10 years. That's a significant amount of money, and it's one of the reasons we need to build our reserves and plan ahead instead of waiting until something breaks and being faced with a much larger expense.

I know nobody likes seeing their utility bills go up. I don't either. But we also can't afford to fall behind on maintaining the infrastructure we all rely on every day. We've seen what happens in communities where corners get cut and that cannot happen here in New Tec.