King Township council approved the 2021 water and wastewater rates at the Feb. 8 meeting.
Under a blended total rate of 2.87% for water and wastewater services, the average annual increase will be $49.54 for 2021. The annual consumption of the average King Township homeowner is 271 cubic metres. More than 54 per cent of residents are below that number. King’s water rates are tiered in terms of consumption in order to encourage water conservation and the majority of King homeowners are in the lowest tier.
The rate increase at a blended rate of 2.87% for 2021—along with similar increases anticipated for the next few years—will help stabilize the water and wastewater reserves. It will also fund the outstanding capital projects in Nobleton for Phase 2 and 3 of the sewer projects and water improvements in Schomberg.
Municipalities are required by the Sustainable Water and Sewage Act (2002) to recover the full cost of providing water services to the public. King provides water services by way of four distribution systems in Ansnorveldt, King City, Nobleton and Schomberg. The Township sources its municipal water supply from York Region’s water distribution systems.
The Township’s water rate consists of fixed and variable components. A variable rate based on water consumption and a fixed component that represents a base charge on pipe size that is billed quarterly regardless of the level of water consumed. The intent of a blended fixed/variable water rate structure is to ensure access to adequate financial resources for infrastructure maintenance and long-term rehabilitation of the Township’s water system assets. The variable element of the Township water rate structure is directly linked to actual consumption of water per cubic meter and has three tiers to encourage water conservation.
To help accommodate the impact to COVID-19, property owners are able to spread their payments over a three-month period with no interest. The property owner must contact the Township Finance Department to make a formal request prior to the due date. The penalty for late payment has also been lowered from 10% to 5%. For more information on King’s water and wastewater rates please visit www.king.ca/waterrates.
Media contact
Jason Ballantyne, communications officer | Phone: 905-833-4573 | Email: jballantyne@king.ca