After a Richmond resident complained about sewer rates being based on water usage, city council decided last week to cap sewer rates in the summer months.
Douglas Symons complained to council in December that his sewer bill was tied to his water consumption in the summer although much of the extra usage is tied to gardening. Water from gardening, he explained, didn’t go down the sewer, rather it was absorbed into the ground or evaporated.
Following council’s decision in April, the rate will now be capped during the third quarter at the equivalent to the flat rate that unmetered properties pay.
Sewer rates are set at 90 per cent of water usage rates. For those households in Richmond that don’t have water meters, there is a flat rate for both water and sewers.
A staff report to council noted that the population of Richmond has increased by 18 per cent since 2003 but, during this time, total water consumption has gone down, which meant a $10 million reduction in charges in 2018 alone, which the report attributes to water metering.
