At their meeting this week, Loyalist Township council decided to support the County of Renfrew’s request to examine the affordability of water and wastewater rates.
The County of Renfrew passed a resolution in January on the subject. It has been circulated to all municipalities in Ontario and is gaining support. According to the report, the typical geography of rural Ontario makes it so that many smaller municipalities are responsible for operating, upgrading, and maintaining several treatment facilities.
The examination will determine if the unaffordability of operational costs for water and wastewater systems is systemic provincially and nationally. Renfrew has put the request forth to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the Rural Ontario Municipalities Association, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
If the unaffordability is determined to be systemic, the resolution calls for provincial and federal governments to fund an assistance program for smaller municipalities with financial oversight of the water systems.
