Currently, the amount of revenue that we collect from water and sewer charges does not cover our costs for this utility. Our prior operational costs did not allow saving for repairs to infrastructure and eventual replacement of facilities. This has result is water and sewer operations being subsidized by all municipal tax payers through property taxes. A further inequity exist in that the small line customers, mainly residential, subsidizing customers serviced by larger lines.
The vast majority of customers (94%) are paying, in part, to make up the significant revenue shortfall arising from the rates applied to a small number (6%) of large service and institutional customers.
As such, existing water and sewer rates are not sufficient to recover funds needed to meet utility requirements and the Town of Drayton Valley has moved to a Full Cost Utility Rate Setting Approach.
Water Rates Table 1/Sewer Rates Table 2
If the Town of Drayton Valley continued with previous water rates, a shortfall of $10.30 million over 10 years would result.
Table 1.1 Corvus Business Advisors Community Information Session (pg. 8)
If the Town of Drayton Valley continued with previous sewer rates, a shortfall of $7.7 million over 10 years would result.
Table 1.2 Corvus Business Advisors Community Information Session (pg. 20)