Water rates rising 6 to 7%

Kelowna water utility users can expect to see their water bill jump by six or seven per cent each year for the foreseeable future.

A report for council shows planned increases of six per cent in 2025 and 2026 and seven per cent from 2027 through 2029 as the city tries to balance renewal, growth and inflationary pressures.

The report says the city’s water assets, valued at well over $1 billion, are depreciating faster than they are being renewed.

The 2024 and 2025 capital renewal rate for the potable water system is .62 per cent of asset value implying assets will be renewed every 160 years.

The proposed 2025 capital budget set the non-potable renewal rate at .48 per cent, up from .41 per cent which implies an asset renewal every 200 years.

“The non-potable system is over 50 years old on average and has seen little renewal. This is the former SEKID system the city obtained in 2018,” the report states.

“While staff are developing a non-potable capital plan, it’s clear that funding for asset renewal will need to increase significantly.”

The new capital plan expects renewal investment to increase to $3 million per year by 2033.

“The renewal rate for water utility infrastructure will need to increase over time to a target of 1.33 per cent to ensure the sustainability of the utility and service to our customers.

“Staff are updating the water utility asset management plan which will clarify the necessary timing and rate of increase in renewal funding necessary for sustainable utility funding.”

The city also says the 2025 rate for Glenmore Ellison Improvement District water users will be set by the current GEID board.

The GEID will be dissolved on Jan. 1, 2025 with assets and operations transferred to the city.

City council will set those rates for the first time in the fall of next year.