Penhold residents are about to see a change to the way their utility bills are calculated which will lead to an increase to most users. But town officials say the new rates will still not raise enough cash to cover the cost of services.
Under the new system, every month residents will be charged $1.20 per cubic metre for water use and $2.40 per cubic metre for sewer use on top of a base rate of $6 for water and $8 for sewer. The monthly fee for garbage and recycling will also rise $1.
This is in contrast to the current billing method.
Users have been paying a flat fee of $28 for using up to eight cubic metres of water in a month ($12 for water and $16 for wastewater) with usage charges kicking in above and beyond those volumes ($2.40 per cubic metre for sewer and $1.20 per cubic meter for water).
Over the last three years the combined water and sewer loss topped $859,000.
As water seeps into the system through cracks in the old infrastructure costs rise. This year Town of Penhold officials will spend tens of thousands of dollars on infiltration reduction.
During a discussion about the rate changes Feb. 26, councillors decided on the fixed charges, deciding the figures proposed by administration ($8 for water and $10 for sewer) were too high, though the understanding was rates will have to be revisited in the near future.
Last year council decided to raise usage rates $.10 per cubic metre and tacking on $3 extra for garbage and recycling collection effective March 2012, raising bills by about $7 a month.
Garbage collection had been at $17 a month. Water had been at $12 for up to eight cubic with a fee of $1.10 per cubic metre beyond that. Sewer rates had been at $16 for up to eight cubic metres of water used and $2.30 for each cubic metre used after that, following a hike in 2011.
