Ottawa residents will soon see an increase in charges on their water bills.
City Council voted Wednesday to hike city water bills by nine per cent in each of the next two years. Council approved the hike by a vote of 18-1.
Dixon Weir, the city's water services manager, told councillors seven per cent of the nine per cent hike will be put towards replacing the city's oldest water and sewer mains in 2008-2009.
A portion of next year's hike will also go towards the same purpose. The remaining percentage will help cover the costs of inflation.
Aging infrastructure
Coun. Alex Cullen says the hike is "important" in order for the City to keep up with its aging water infrastructure.
The oldest components of the system - found mainly in the city's downtown core - handle both storm and waste water. During heavy rainstorms and runoff times, the sewers can get overloaded, sending human waste along with storm water into the Ottawa River.
The City's medical officer of health told a city committee last week that E. coli levels are showing up in routine water quality tests conducted at city beaches in the summer.
Dr. David Salibury suggested he might close all beaches if councillors don't act to reduce the waste the City sends into area waterways.
Already paying too much?
The only councillor to vote against the motion was Gloucester-South Nepean Coun. Steve Desroches.
Desroches says he voted against the motion because he thinks taxpayers are already being asked to pay too much this year.
The recent 4.9 per cent tax increase approved by council includes a two per cent levy dedicated to infrastructure renewal.
"Residents expect part of that will go to water infrastructure," Descroches told CTV News.
The rate increase in water bills will be sent out May 1.
