For the average Thompson homeowner facing the prospect of paying regular water bills, the magic number is $285.
That's the difference between how much is currently spent on water through property taxes - $361 for the average property - and how much the same property can expect to see its water cost under the new system, which is pegged at $646 annually.
Of course, these are not necessarily exact figures for every or even any home in Thompson. The $646 number is based on an assessed property value of $153,000 - the average for Thompson - so properties with higher or lower values will see more or less come out of their tax bill. Additionally, with water rates to be charged based primarily on usage, those who are more serious about curbing and conserving water will find themselves paying much less than $646 in water costs.
For the average Thompson property - including industrial and commercial buildings - the average cost is projected to fall around the mark of $736 per year. All these numbers are based on 250 cubic metres of water per year, which is a standard rate used for projections.
These were some of the figures revealed at the Oct. 12 regular meeting of city council, in a presentation by Ed Sharp of engineering consultants CH2M Hill.
"It is much more than just transferring from property taxes to a water bill," said Sharp of the new water utility. Sharp explained that a water utility requires long-range planning, for the city to know how it will spend the money before it collects it. All projections were based on the assumption that there would be a "significant" decrease in water use once metering began, with smaller decreases over time.
On that point, CH2M Hill's presentation noted - likely to the surprise of nobody in Thompson - that Thompson's water infrastructure has passed the point where regular service can keep up with the infrastructure's rate of decay. Sharp compared Thompson's water lines to a car, explaining that "as it gets older, it requires more maintenance."
The next hurdle for the city remains the Public Utilities Board (PUB), which oversees all utilities in the province. The city cannot charge for water until they have approval from the PUB, a process which will likely not be completed before the planned go-live date of Jan. 1, 2011. However, CH2M Hill noted that the PUB can approve retroactive costs, and that getting approval later in 2011 and then charging for water used up to that point remains a possibility.
"Our reading is that the Public Utility Board is likely to require public hearings to be held in Thompson," said Sharp. The city will have its own opportunities for public feedback, as upcoming meetings of the public works and infrastructure committee dealing with the water utility issue will be advertised as public meetings.
Under the projections set out by CH2M Hill, the new wastewater treatment plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2015. The plant was the ultimate goal of this project, as the province has committed to funding 60 per cent of its costs as long as the city institutes a metering program - with the province also funding 60 per cent of that project. "A lot of people don't understand that the water meters are connected to getting grants for the wastewater treatment plant," said Coun. Charlene Lafreniere.
"We know we're going to be around for a long time to come, and it's time to invest," said Coun. Oswald Sawh, pointing out that Thompson's infrastructure was originally built with little concern for the future, and that the time has come to deal with the ramifications of that. "We are setting Thompsonites up for a future of not having to deal with having no drinking water," agreed Lafreniere.
The break-even point for the utility is proposed at $1.8 million for 2011. This is the amount the city projects it will collect from residents, but also the amount it will spend on infrastructure repairs, replacements, and savings for the new wastewater treatment plant - a zero-sum game it never enjoyed when water was classed under property taxes. "The revenue received from water billing must be used on the water utility," explained Sharp. "It's very transparent." Under CH2M Hill's projections, 40 per cent of Thompson's water mains will be replaced within the next 20 years - about 1.5 kilometres of piping replaced per year.
The actual rates work out to $1.74 per cubic litre of water - 97 cents for the water, and 77 cents for the wastewater/sewage component. There is a minimum charge of $52.80 per quarter - Sharp noted that the PUB generally prefers this sort of charge - and the rates are scheduled to rise each year by 2 per cent to combat inflation. The application is for a three-year period, from 2011 to 2013, after which the city and the PUB will review the utility's progress.
A so-called "fake bill" will be sent out to all homes in January, showing how much water was registered by the meters in December and how much it would have cost the homeowner had the utility been in place that month - the real cost of that bill being zero.
Though he said he was reluctant to compare water rates between cities because every city has different needs, Sharp told the audience that these rates were "considerably less than Winnipeg, in the range of Brandon," and slightly higher than Steinbach.
A public meeting was held Sept. 20 in the Letkemann Theatre, during which Sharp made a similar presentation and solicited public input. Surveys were handed out at this meeting and available through the city - only 38 surveys were completed and returned, but Sharp nonetheless was able to draw conclusions from that data. "There was a strong agreement that there is an infrastructure deficit in Thompson," he said, also noting that there were no clear ideas of good ways to address the issue. The survey also asked respondents' opinions on different prices for water, and Sharp noted that $800 per year was where the tide began to turn, with 47 per cent believing that price too high, and another 42 per cent neutral.
The water bylaw - actually two separate bylaws, one creating the utility and one setting the rates - passed first reading at the Oct. 12 council meeting. This was a necessary step before the PUB would accept the city's application.
