One of Ottawa’s rural councillors is opposing a new storm water management levy, colloquially called the “ditch tax.”
The new levy proposes to charge additional taxes depending on the size of a rural property and on its hard surfaces.
Rideau-Jock Ward Coun. David Brown says the city staff who proposed the new revenue do not seem to understand that storm water in the countryside is handled by ditches and open municipal drains, not by expensive underground infrastructure. He said urban residents benefit from storm sewers to drain rainwater, while rural areas, including his ward, are drained via land absorption, roadside ditches and municipal drains, which are ditches in fields paid for by landowners.
Brown added the city’s survey regarding rural issues is available for this month at engage.ottawa.ca.
