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Letter: Sicamous resident takes district to task over utility billing

“I think it is time to change the bylaw.”
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Sicamous resident challenges district’s utility billing. (File photo)

Open letter to Sicamous’ mayor and council.

Before I paid my utility bill in February, I did some number crunching.

Our sewer charges were over twice the cost from the same period for the previous two years. I do understand that you take a percentage of water usage for the calculation of sewer charges. This is a seriously flawed bylaw.

I imagine you were very aware of our long hot summer and a lot of water used for lawns and fire protection. I used my irrigation system overnight to keep my lawns, etc., well watered using over double the water I normally use.

When paying my bill I questioned district staff about the sewer charges and was told that was in the city bylaws and I should just pay the bill. I think it is time to change the bylaw.

I asked about getting another meter for just our irrigation system and was told I would have to pay another “fixed charge” on top of buying a meter and having it installed buy a plumber. Outrageous. I already pay $720/yr for fixed charges. What is this for? Having someone maybe spend five minutes to read our meter twice a year?

On my yearly tax bill there is a charge for Sewer Collection Area 2 for $500, and a $170 dollar charge for the water treatment plant. My total cost for water and sewer for last year was just over $2,000. Again outrageous.

Some common sense has to be applied to these charges. Last summer with the fires and smoke tourists avoided Sicamous, therefore our sewage volume should have decreased compared to other summers. (Ours doubled). I talked to a local motel operator and he agreed there were hardly any tourists around. Lucky for his business though he was busy with evacuees from Two Mile and citizens from the south side of town.

Suggestion: Take the volume of water through our water plant and the volume through the sewage plant and calculate the percentage that should be charged each year, which will take account of dry or wet years. This would be a fair way to bill all single family homes.

I do realize we have to pay for what we use (water), but when I am obviously overcharged for sewer this is not right.

We wait for your reply and hopefully a solution for this unfair and outrageous billing procedure.

Read more: Dry spell causes unprecedented demand on Sicamous’ water system

Read more: Sicamous pursuing regulation of short-term rentals

Ralph Waterson



newsroom@saobserver.net
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