North Huron Council establishes township-wide flat rates for water, sewer

BY SCOTT STEPHENSON

A divided North Huron Council voted in favour of moving to flat-rate sewer and water charges for residential properties across the entire township, effective Jan. 1, 2025. The decision came after extensive debate at the Sept. 16 meeting, during which councillors considered the long-term implications of abandoning the current hybrid  system (combination of metered and flat rate).

 

Currently, the Blyth system is a flat-rate service, the Belgrave system is a cost-recovery service and Wingham is a metered service. 

 

At the meeting, Director of Public Works and Facilities Dax McAllister presented a report outlining possible changes to sewer and water charges in North Huron. In the report, McAllister says that currently, Wingham has 1,294 metered customers, divided into four routes. On average, 146 meters per route are unreadable due to accessibility issues or end-of-life conditions, complicating the reading process for Veolia staff members who are responsible for the operation of North Huron’s water and sewer operations, maintenance and management.

 

McAllister’s report says that if council provided direction to proceed with a metered system across the township, there would be significant costs involved with replacing old meters and installing new ones.

 

Councillor Mitch Wright voiced strong opposition to the flat-rate model, arguing that a metered system is the fairest and most efficient option. “If you have a flat rate, basically, it means people with lower incomes, who tend to use less water, are subsidizing the usage of people that have greater incomes and use more water,” Wright explained. He added that, based on his research, municipalities using flat rates consume 30 per cent more water than those with metered systems, leading to increased infrastructure costs. 

 

Wright questioned whether the costs of replacing old water meters would fall on the municipality or individual users. McAllister, responded by saying that new meter installations would require plumbing upgrades from homeowners, but further details about costs could be provided in a future report. Wright inquired further about the possibility of charging users for meter installations, to which McAllister agreed to provide additional information.

 

Deputy-Reeve Kevin Falconer expressed concerns about the costs associated with manual meter reading. McAllister acknowledged that the current process takes three to five days but could be significantly reduced to a half-day if North Huron were to invest in a radio frequency reading system.

 

Reeve Paul Heffer asked McAllister whether adopting a flat rate would preclude a future switch to a metered system. McAllister said that a change could be made at any time.

 

Falconer sought clarification on the reasoning behind staff’s preference for a flat-rate system. McAllister explained that the recommendation aligns with other ongoing water infrastructure projects, noting that many of the existing meters in Wingham are at the end of their lifespan and would need to be replaced soon.

 

Council motioned to receive the report and to support Option 2 - flat rates for sewer and water - with an invitation extended to BM Ross and Associates Limited to present updated financial plans at the Oct. 7 council meeting. Wright, Falconer and Councillor Lonnie Whitfield voted against the motion but it passed with support from Heffer and Councillors Ric McBurney, Anita van Hittersum and Chris Palmer.