With changes expected in growth forecasts and infrastructure reports underway, the County’s Water and Wastewater Rates Community Committee recommends Council hold off on setting years of rates.

The Committee is calling on Council for a one-year Water and Wastewater Rates draft bylaw to index next year’s rates at the rate of inflation.

A Water and Wastewater rate study and a Development Charges Background Study update in 2027 follow Council direction on growth projections and long-term water servicing infrastructure needs. That work has not yet been finalized because the fiscal and physical ground is shifting.

“The data has shifted and we didn’t have the complete picture to make informed decisions,” Committee Chair and Wellington Councillor Corey Engelsdorfer told the Gazette.

Mr. Engelsdorfer pointed to an incomplete Development Charges Background Study for Picton that would be useful in setting the next half decade of rates. Revised growth projections, updated engineering condition assessments, and available long-term water servicing options are other vital pieces of information.

The Chair said both Director of Finance and IT Aaron McNicol and CAO Adam Goheen want to ensure all required data is available prior to making a long-term decision.

“Bad data equals bad decisions,” Director McNicol said. He recommends a one-year indexed rate while updated information and reports are developed. “The intent is to get it done right the first time.”

The key piece underway at the Development Services department is an updated water/wastewater infrastructure strategy, which rests on engineering condition assessments and long-term water servicing options.

Staff will also continue Asset Management Plan lifecycle modelling for water, wastewater, and roads infrastructure using the Brightly Predictor platform. The modelling supports long-term lifecycle forecasting and capital planning independent of the servicing strategy review.

Last month, consultants toured the existing Picton Water Plant at Chimney Point to better asses the facility’s condition and gauge whether retrofitting existing membranes to build temporary capacity is even possible.

Once Council has considered the Development Services reports and provided direction on the long-term servicing approach, staff will proceed with a Water and Wastewater Rate Study and update the Development Charges Background Study in 2027.

“This sequencing ensures the County remains legislatively compliant, continues essential asset management modelling, and undertakes the required financial studies once the necessary infrastructure planning inputs and Council direction are in place,” the Director said in his report.

The Committee reconvenes May 21 to pass the one-year interim rate bylaw recommendation.

Despite not developing the next five years of water and wastewater rates, the Chair surmised there was much merit in the committee’s work.

“It’s brought back to the forefront that we are locking data and it’s put pressure on council and staff to do more of that work to make sure that the data is correct before we move forward with big decisions,” he said.