NORTHEAST TOWN—Council for the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands set a public meeting date of March 5 before the 2024 water and wastewater rates are set for residents of Little Current and Sheguiandah. Little Current residents will see an increase of $21 a year to their water and wastewater rates (bringing the quarterly total to $138.13 for both water and sewer) while Sheguiandah residents will see an increase of $92.58, bringing their quarterly water bill to $408.91.
CAO Dave Williamson spoke to council about the capital projects for both Little Current (coming in at over $20,000 for water and $75,000 for wastewater projects) and Sheguiandah water treatment plants are needing in 2024, the highest ticket occurring in Sheguiandah at over $197,000.
Mr. Williamson reminded council that Sheguiandah’s water treatment plant costs a great deal to run, as does any water treatment plant, but with a limited number of users on the system to cover said costs.
Ward 3 Councillor Dawn Orr pointed out to Mayor Al MacNevin and fellow members of council that the water rates for Sheguiandah are almost three times as high as those in Little Current.
“We’re a small community with lots of seniors on fixed incomes,” Councillor Orr said. “Many simply can’t afford that,” she said of the over $400 quarterly rates.
For comparison, looking at other small community water rates, Assiginack’s Sunsite Estates’ water users paid $1,734.48 annually in 2023, slightly more than Sheguiandah’s proposed 2024 annual rate of $1,635.88. In South Baymouth, residents pay for both water and sewer. Their total annual billing is $2,142.64. Any other Manitoulin communities on town water systems have considerable more households footing the costs.
Councillor Orr reminded council that a few years ago the municipality was able to apply for funding to help offset some of the costs. The councillor then proposed a motion, which was passed, to be forwarded to the premier and other provincial offices, recognizing the effect water treatment plants have on small, often rural, communities and their residents, which follows:
“The current economy has stretched the financial capabilities of municipalities and taxpayers to the point where they do not have sufficient financial resources to meet the ongoing demands of everyday living. This has created a situation where residents, who are struggling to pay their daily expenses, lack the financial resources to maintain the critical infrastructure required to sustain the water and wastewater systems that service their homes. It is critically important that the other levels of government recognize this fact and provide funding assistance that can be accessed based on operational and financial need.
“Whereas the current housing accelerator fund provides financial support for small communities and water and distribution systems are considered eligible under the program guidelines; and whereas one of the primary criteria for this funding is the ability to prove that the funds will accelerate the development of housing stock on the water or distribution system; and whereas many smaller communities are not experiencing the level of growth necessary to meet the requirements of the program for growth in housing stock; and whereas the water and wastewater systems in those communities represents a higher cost to operate per capita than the systems in larger built-up areas; and whereas the cost of maintaining those systems on a user-pay basis is creating undo financial hardship for the limited number of residents on those systems; therefore be it resolved that the Council for the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands requests that the Province of Ontario implement a funding stream for water and wastewater systems that primarily utilizes operational and financial need as a criteria and furthermore, that a copy of this motion be forwarded to Premier Ford, the Minister of Housing, the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and Michael Mantha, MPP for Algoma-Manitoulin.”
