Vaughan mulls over water, wastewater rate hike plus new stormwater charge
Average homeowner could see costs rise by 9.55 per cent

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 17, 2017
By Adam Martin-Robbins

Water flows downhill, but the cost of using it to wash your dishes, water your vegetable garden and take a shower is poised to shoot up - again. And that has some Vaughan residents spitting mad.

City staff are proposing an increase of 1.56 per cent, about $15.52 a year for the average homeowner, to the combined water and wastewater rates plus the introduction of a new stormwater charge that, if approved, would result in an overall hike of 9.55 per cent.

The potential increase, if approved, would continue a trend of near 10 per cent water bill hikes the past few years.

The proposed stormwater charge is a flat rate that varies based on property type.

For example, the owner of a single-detached home would pay $50 a year while the owner of a semi-detached home or a townhome would pay $30.61.

The charge for high-density developments such as condominium towers is $184, which is divided among the units in the building.

Businesses are also facing the new charge with proposed rates of $41.28 for properties less than one acre, $1,066.21 for properties between one acre and 10 acres and $16,740.78 for properties larger than 10 acres.

The rate increase is being driven by several factors, Jennifer Rose, Vaughan’s director of environmental services, told councillors at a Jan. 16 finance committee meeting where the proposed rates were unveiled.

Those factors include meeting provincial legislation for the provision of safe drinking water and environmental protection, the cost of repairing and replacing aging infrastructure as well as the rising cost of purchasing bulk water from the Region of York, which buys Lake Ontario water from Peel and Toronto then stores it for distribution.

Rose noted the region implemented a financial sustainability plan to achieve full cost recovery resulting in increases of 9 per cent a year for four years for local municipalities that buy water from the upper-tier government.

Gerry O’Connor is fuming about the proposed increases.

He told councillors his water bill for a four-month period totalled about $1,600, roughly the amount a senior citizen gets monthly through their Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security.

“In my case, I can afford to pay these amounts, but many senior citizens can’t afford to pay $1,600 for four months of water,” the 72-year-old Woodbridge resident said.

“I think from a taxpayer perspective, from a senior citizen perspective, the costs here are unpalatable, they’re outrageous and they’re at the point where people are being driven out of their homes in order to pay the levies that are being charged by this council,” he added.

Daniela Palma, a 27-year-old recent university graduate, isn’t happy either.

“We’ve got to make it more affordable to live in Vaughan, not less affordable, especially for people my age who are just starting off,” she said. “We can’t live in Vaughan because of these prices, because everything is so expensive.”

If approved by council, the new water and wastewater increases are set to take effect April 1 while the stormwater charge could kick in around June, Rose said.