COURTENAY, B.C- Residents of Courtenay will be seeing their water and sewer bills go up this year.
Over the last few weeks, the city’s municipal council has been discussing a proposed raise for the water and sewer rates in the city.
For 2019, those increases are being set at 6.5 per cent for water, with the average family residence seeing an annual increase of $30.39.
For sewer, the increase is being set at five per cent, with the average family residence seeing an annual increase of $16.21.
City staff asked for council to approve both rate increases.
There are a variety of factors at play with the rises. Those include a rise in water rates from the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) which the city purchases water from, and increased maintenance of both the water and sewer system.
With the matter up for final approval last night, council signed off on the increases with no dissenting votes.
After the meeting, Mayor Bob Wells stated that the increases were worth it, given the current and future work being done on both systems.
Discussions about the city’s budget will be starting in the next few weeks.