Heather Wright/The Independent

Big capital projects will drive the cost of turning on the tap in Petrolia.

Monday, Petrolia’s Chief Administrative Officer, Rick Charlebois, unveiled the proposed water and sewer rates for 2026. They’re both expected to rise four per cent this year.

Charlebois told members of council and one resident in the audience for the public meeting that the town was spending $24 million over 10 years to upgrade the water system. 

In 2022, the Bright’s Grove water treatment plant had an $8 million update to replace the 120 year old clearwell and water pumps.

Right now, the town is working to replace the water intake pipe which goes into Lake Huron to draw the water into the system. That’s a $16.2 million job over two years.

The town received over $18.8 million in grants for that work, but Charlebois says the town still has to come up with some of the cash to cover the costs. That comes through water rates.

There are a couple of other water projects planned in 2026 including the second half of the construction of the new waterline feeding the southwest part of Petrolia which is expected to fuel housing starts. The town received grants to cover most of the $3 million cost.

There may also be about $176,000 needed if King Street is reconstructed in 2026 and there is another $253,000 in regular maintenance work needed. 

“We have been building up our water reserves from $530,000 in 2019 to $2.8 million in 2024 to help fund the intake replacement,” Charlebois added saying residential growth will eventually help relieve some of the financial pressures for water projects.

On the sewer side, regular maintenance and some street work is planned for about $230,000 this year. The big project will be in 2027, where the wastewater treatment plants filtration system needs to be replaced at a cost of $1.3 million.

Charlebois expects $9.9 million in capital sewage projects in the next 10 years, with about half of that needed to be funded by debt at this point. 

Charlebois says the average family of three uses about 12 cubic meters of water, putting their current monthly bill around $41.40. The four per cent increase would be about $1.66 per month. The average sewage bill would rise about $1.88 per month if council approves the rates in November, making the average sewage bill about $46.92 for a total bill of over $88.

Resident Tristan Reid said while he understands the need for increases, he says big families who use a lot of water are at a disadvantage because the water rates are high while the fixed rate is low. He estimated his bill is $120 more in Petrolia than it would be in Sarnia. Charlebois says staff has been discussing the very issue, saying its not clear which is better, higher water rates or higher fixed rates.

Last year, Petrolia raised fixed rates to $15. It also imposed a 2.5 per cent water rate increase. 

In 2024, the town had projected a three per cent increase for 2026.