Ron Seymour 2009-06-27 Kelowna Daily Courier:
After a freeze on rates in 2007, higher water charges are coming down the pipe for Kelowna homeowners this year. Council on Monday will consider a staff recommendation to raise overall water rates by seven per cent. However, the actual increase varies for different types of property owners, and according to the volume of water they use. For example, people who live in gated communities face higher increases, at nine per cent, in a bid to discourage what staff say is excessive consumption. “These communities resemble single-family-home neighbourhoods, with separate homes and lawns and gardens,” utility services manager Don Degen said Friday. However, the use of water inside gated communities, on a per-unit basis, tends to be higher than for a single-family home, a water-consumption analysis shows. At a typical gated community, the average annual water bill, shared by all residents, would rise under the proposed increase to $3,453 from $3,144. A key aim of raising rates is to discourage unnecessary consumption and achieve a 15 per cent reduction in overall water use between now and 2012.
“This reduction target complements a 20 per cent reduction that has already been achieved for the utility since the city‘s Water Smart program began in 1988,” reads part of a report to council written by Degen. The reductions are said to have been achieved through the introduction of water meters, which made people more aware of their consumption, and differing rates that see higher charges applied to those who use a lot of water. Under the suggested increase, staff say, the typical owner of a single-family home would see a rise in his or her yearly water bill to $271 from $264.
Kelowna homeowners pay some of the lowest water rates in British Columbia. Water rates are about 50 per cent higher in Penticton and nearly double in Vernon.
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