Utility bills to increase 23 per cent by 2018

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Households in Metro-Vancouver will see an extra $100 on their utility bills by 2018 – a 23 per cent increase from 2012.

The steep rise in cost is partly because of new federal standards put in place for water treatment across Canada. Metro-Vancouver is bringing utility services up to the new standards by upgrading sewer and water treatment facilities.

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts claims the move is unfair for tax payers to take on the burden to pay for upgrades imposed by the federal government. “With the secondary treatment facility, it’s about $800-million. Certainly the federal government needs to have a look at the impact on communities.”

She wants all levels of government to pitch in so tax-payers are not left to foot the bill on their own.

“I don’t think it should go without having dollars from the federal government and provincial government. Clearly something as significant as that cannot be put onto property taxes.”

Regional water servicing costs are slated to rise from $147 per household to $152 in 2014 and reach about $189 by 2018, meaning increases of around eight per cent over the next four years.

Some of the big costs being incurred include a new Seymour-Capilano Filtration Project, which will add state of the art “ultraviolet drinking water disinfection” to the Coquitlam water source. Another project will build new tunnels beneath the Fraser River to bring drinking water to Surrey.

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