Kenora city council defers vote on tripling water service delivery price for residents

Josh Ariano says he moved to Kenora, Ont., due to the lower cost of living, so when he received a letter from the city last month saying his water delivery bill would be tripling in the new year, he was less than impressed.

He currently pays $120 a month for the city's water delivery service, since his house isn't on the city's main water lines. He calls the city twice a month and a worker comes the next day to pump water into the cistern beside his house.

The current rate is $60 for about 1,000 gallons (3,800 L)  of water, but late last month, he received a notice saying that as of Jan. 1, 2024, that amount would go up to $180.

"In these economic times, everyone's struggling right now. I don't know a single person that isn't living paycheque to paycheque at this point," Ariano told CBC News. "Every single one of my bills has gone up and now my water bill will be one of my highest bills."

The notice Ariano received said the price hadn't increased since 2002. Since that was issued, city administration learned the rate has actually increased four times since then.

"The water delivery service is a user pay utility. City administration has conducted a thorough cost recovery analysis on each service and have determined that costs are not being recovered and as a result, this fee increase is necessary," the notice says.

The city spent about $112,000 for the water delivery service last year and generated only $45,000 in revenue from the billing rates.

After Ariano made a deputation to city council Wednesday night, council voted to defer its decision on whether to keep the rate increase. Staff have been directed to gather more information, including seeing whether private contractors could provide the service at a cheaper price, and report back in mid-January.

City staff factored in the costs of labour, materials, equipment, and the maintenance and replacement of tank trucks to determine the true costs of the service, Heather Pihulak, the city's director of corporate services said  in an email to CBC News.

The city operates two tanker trucks, one from 2003 and the other is from 2015. The cost to replace one of these trucks has risen from $116,000 in 2003 to about $325,750 now, Pihulak said.

She said there are about 100 customers who receive regular water delivery and an additional 50 customers who request periodic delivery throughout the year, she said.

Kenora resident Ray Csuzdi said if the rate increase is tripled, the bill for his household of four would jump up to $540 a month. His home is located about five minutes from downtown and roughly 200 feet from the city's main water lines.

"Who's going to buy [your] house if you want to sell when your water alone is worth a good portion of your mortgage? You're paying more for water than you are for insurance," Csuzdi told CBC News.

Csuzdi gave a deputation to city councillors a week before Ariano did, during last week's committee of the whole meeting.