Effective October 1, water rates have climbed for Niverville residents connected to the water treatment plant. The rate hike was approved during second and third reading at council’s September 23 public meeting.

For the average household, this increase will equate to 5.45 percent and will appear for the first time on the January 2026 quarterly water bill.

The quarterly billing service charge will actually go down in the next quarter, dropping from $7.37 to $3.09. This is a response to increased efficiencies being implemented in the meter reading process.

As service charges go down, though, the actual cost of the water commodity will go up. Water will see a seven percent increase, taking the current rate from $11.18 per one thousand imperial gallons to $11.96.

The increase, says Cyrus Reimer, the town’s director of communications, is designed to help cover inflationary costs for the period between 2019 and 2027.

The last water rate increase, according to Reimer, was in 2018. It won’t be until 2027 that council will be able to apply to the Public Utilities Board (PUB) for another increase.

Based on the results of this PUB rate change request, rate hikes are not always guaranteed.

According to CAO Eric King, council first applied to PUB for a water rate hike 18 months ago. At the time, the town asked for a much more significant increase.

“[The PUB] changed some of the rates to actually go down from what was submitted,” King says.

The original ask, Reimer says, was for an overall increase of 17.87 percent as opposed to the 5.45 percent that was actually granted.

“[This request would have] helped cover future inflation as well as an increase in annual funding of the Water Utility Reserve to save for future repairs and maintenance of the Town of Niverville’s municipal water system,” Reimer says. “A point to remember is that repairs and maintenance of our water system are funded solely through the water utility payments. The town legally cannot pay for water infrastructure out of general property taxes, which means only residents who are connected to the municipal water system fund the system.”

According to Reimer, the reason for the disparity is that the PUB considers future infrastructure repairs and maintenance differently from how town council sees them.

Public notice prior to the rate increase was provided by the Town to Niverville residents in July 2024, seeking resident input. Reimer says no significant responses were received by the PUB deadline of August 15, 2024.