Kudos to the City of St. Albert for its ecologically sound water conservation bylaw (Water conservation law begins Jan. 1: (Gazette Dec. 23, 2017; page 9). Providing a systematic process by which all citizens can participate in substantially reducing their water consumption is the right way to move forward on such an important issue. My question, however, is How much more is my using less water going to cost me?
I refer specifically to an earlier article in the Gazette (Higher rates led to proposed utility hike: Nov. 11, 2017: pages 1 & 5). According to that article, low water consumption factored into an average $3.04 increase in St. Albert residents’ monthly utility bills. Kevin Cole, director of utilities for the City, suggested that as Epcor has fixed costs, using less water did not result in paying less money: “When water use goes down, the cost per cubic metre of water goes up.”
So let me try to understand this Monty Pythonesque logic. Common sense dictates that we all attempt to reduce our energy use, including water. The provincial government supports such action with various homeowner incentives. At considerable expense I install low-flow faucets, shower heads and toilets and curtail outdoor watering and the such. As expected, I use less water. But Epcor had purchased its water at a rate based upon a higher expected residential usage. So I, not Epcor, am left to pay for what would otherwise be a loss in Epcor’s revenue. (I now wonder if the same skewed reasoning will apply to my electric bill.)
But back to my earlier question: How much more yet is the City’s conservation bylaw going to cost me?
Jerry Wowk, St. Albert
