Water bills to rise 4.5% in 2021, garbage fees going up too

By Kate Porter, CBC News Ottawa, November 17, 2020

Ottawa residents can expect their water bills to go up 4.5 per cent on average next year, and to pay an extra $10 — or more — for garbage pickup. 

On Tuesday, councillors on the city committee responsible for water and waste approved their part of the 2021 draft budget, which now goes to full council Dec. 9.

(...)The City of Ottawa sees spending $1.1 billion on sewer and water infrastructure over the coming years. The $218 million in 2021 includes:

  • $17.4 million to repair sewage pumping stations.
  • $14.8 million to replace and fix culverts.
  • $13.7 million to extend the life of the city's sewage treatment plant.
  • $12.7 million to upgrades the Britannia and Lemieux Island water purification plants.

As for garbage and recycling, the solid waste fee on 2021 property tax bills will rise $10 to $106 for single-family homes that receive curbside collection. Multi-residential households will see that fee rise to $71.50, up $15 over 2020 and up $28.50 from just two years ago.

Four dollars from those fees go toward $18.4 million being spent at the Trail Road landfill, both to capture greenhouse gases and to cap and cover parts of the dump.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/city-ottawa-environment-draft-budget-garbage-water-1.5805152

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