VICTORIA -- When the B.C. government mandated that Victoria treat its sewage in 2006, the idea was to eliminate a major problem - the 129 million litres of raw effluent being dumped into the ocean every day. Now a new problem has cropped up, which some say stinks even more: how to pay for it. The project has been estimated to cost up to $1.2-billion, and both the provincial and federal governments have pledged to cover a third of the cost.Funding the local government's share will come through an additional levy on homeowners, based on how much work needs to be done in the various municipalities. It will cost some taxpayers in the capital region an additional $713 a year by the year 2017, when the system is online, while others will pay as little as an additional $157.
Annual projected costs for sewage treatment alone in the Greater Victoria area by the year 2017 (figures are per household)
Oak Bay $712.98 Saanich $471.12 Victoria $464.85 View Royal $430.88 Esquimalt $408.45 Colwood $197.81 Langford $157.49
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