The increase in water and sewer utility rates is official, which means the average property owner will pay an extra $29.46 per year or $2.45 per month in combined utilities.
During the Jan. 25 regular city council meeting, council gave third reading to the utility bylaw amendment and voted 5-2 to accept the new rates.
Councillors Crystal Froese and Dawn Luhning were opposed.
The 2021 utility rate hikes will see waterworks and sanitary sewer utilities increase by two per cent each for a total of four per cent, effective Monday, Feb. 1.
With water, the average household will pay $833.91 this year compared to $817.56 last year. This is an extra $16.35 per year or about $1.36 per month. With sewer, that same household will pay $668.43 this year compared to $655.32 last year. This is an extra $13.11 per year or about $1.09 per month.
No-corrode sewer pipes
During the same meeting, council gave three unanimous readings to another sewer and water utility bylaw amendment that removes the municipal-provided subsidy for replacing privately owned no-corrode sewer pipe connections.
Homebuilders in Moose Jaw installed roughly 2,490 no-corrode sewer pipe service connections — also known as Orangeburg pipe — from the mid-1950s to mid-1960s since there was a shortage of metal after the Second World War, a city council report explained. Composed of coal tar-impregnated wood fibre pipe, it did not perform as intended and became susceptible to damage and moisture.
City hall adopted a policy in the 1970s where it subsidized 75 per cent of the pipe’s replacement cost. In 2005, city council moved to a subsidy that would reduce every year by two per cent until the subsidy’s conclusion in 2036.
The subsidy amount that the municipality covered in 2020 was 32 per cent.
There are roughly 1,800 no-corrode sewer pipe service connections remaining, a council report said. About 30 per cent of the original connections have been replaced during the last 50 years. It costs roughly $10,000 to replace each connection.
In the last three years, the no-corrode subsidy has cost the city about $687,000. Since property owners own 100 per cent of sewer service connections, the council report noted that taxpayers are effectively subsidizing private infrastructure replacement.
City administration expects to save about $200,000 in annual operating costs by discontinuing the subsidy. That money will be put toward capital programs. This decision will also remove the liability of more than $5.1 million from the water and wastewater utility for private infrastructure.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Feb. 1.
