Water rate to rise

Ron Seymour The Daily Courier 2011-05-31

Water Rate Comparison Prior To Kelowna Change

The average Kelowna homeowner will pay at least $60 more for their family‘s water use in the coming year under a new rate structure approved Monday by city council.  And similar increases are already set for each of the next five years as rates are continually hiked to pay for ongoing operating costs as well as a future water filtration plant.  "No one ever enjoys raising rates, but I think this is absolutely the most prudent option open to council," Coun. Kevin Craig said as the new rate schedule was established. While water rates for single-family homes will rise eight per cent, residents of multi-family complexes will pay 11.4 per cent more, and owners of commercially-classed properties will see a 13 per cent increase in their bills.  All rate increases take effect next month.  City staff say the higher charges better reflect accurate water delivery charges. Until now, they say, single-family homeowners have essentially been subsidizing water consumption by people who own other types of property.  About half the total increases are to help cover costs associated with the eventual construction of a water filtration plant. Such a facility carries a current estimated price tag of $130 million, which would make it the most costly single project ever undertaken by the City of Kelowna.  "We need revenue to be set aside for future filtration," acting city manager John Vos told council.  City staff hope to soon win permission from Interior Health to delay construction of the water filtration plant by 10-20 years. They will argue that the city‘s current treatment system, involving a mix of ultra-violet light and chlorine on water drawn from Okanagan Lake, already provides reliable, high-quality water.  "We‘re very fortunate because Okanagan Lake is extremely clean and we‘re meeting Canadian drinking water guidelines virtually all of the time, unless we get a severe event," Vos said.  The last significant water quality concern associated with the municipal system was in the mid-1990s, when an outbreak of cryptosporidium sickened thousands and sent some people to hospital with gastro-intestinal illness. In response to that event, the city installed the UV treatment system, which is said to be capable of preventing a similar outbreak.  Given the City of Kelowna‘s track record of delivering high-quality water to its residents, Coun. Robert Hobson said he wished the "enormous expense" required in building a filtration system could deferred forever.  "It is frustrating to me that they (Interior Health) are trying to make the assumption that, despite all the good work we‘re doing, we‘ll need to build (the water filtration system) at some point anyway," Hobson said.  Despite the planned increase over the next five years in water rates, staff told council that Kelowna will still have one of the lowest consumption charges of any municipality in the province.