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Anyone else get a water/sewer bill that seems crazy high to you? Mine is $200... up $90 from the last bill.. I realize there was a hike but man that seems crazy. There are 2 of us that live in the house.. we barely watered our grass and nothing has changed in the last 3 months... We have lived in this house for just over a year and each bill seems crazy high and this one seems ridiculous. Our previous home had an ingroud pool we maintained, in ground sprinklers that we often used due to fruit trees and my highest bill in 16 years was $120......

Our bill increased as well, previously $90 now $200. No unusual water use here either, so even taking the rate adjustment into account it seems like a particularly large hike.  
 
Edited by Abby :), 2017-08-21 16:25:42

I would check and make sure that your toilets aren't leaking they are one of the largest consumers of warter in a house

As a matter of fact there has been work done by the city on our property during this billing period. When the water line on our neighbours property burst and had to be replaced, the city had to dig up a good portion of our yard to access it.

There is usually a triangle-shaped dial near top of meter that moves when water is being used. If it is moving and you are not using the water, that indicates you have a leaking toilet or some other issue.  
Also, read the meter over a few days to see if an unusually large amount is going through.  
And compare the number of cubic meters used as shown on this bill compared to your previous one, then you'll know if it's the rate hike to blame or not.

ours went up $70!!!!

Last bill was $113 for a family of 3, one of which is a teenager and some lawn watering included as well. The bill is right in line with our normal water and sewer bills. Live in the south end. As previously suggested, check your water meter for dial movement when nothing should be running.

Ours just jumped from $90 to $178. We have a well so we do not use water for our lawn, etc. Not impressed.

It looks like everything has increased by 50% as of July 2017.  
 
We are at cottage for summer so not using much but here are our increases for latest billing  
 
Admin. Service charge: $11.72 + $5.76  
Water consumption: $14.73 + $7.43  
Wastewater charge: $10.13 + $6.23  
 
Total of additional $19.42 for what would have been $36.58. so from what I see water bills have increased 50%.  
 
So yes if your bill was $90 before it would seem that $200 now is correct if things have gone up 50%  
 
Edited by Blade, 2017-08-21 19:30:19

Ours is only up about $30 (about 16%)for the entire billing period from this time last year (so the May to August period). BUT this year we watered tons through the end of June and into July due to lack of rain, where last year I'm pretty sure I did virtually no watering and when I did it was off our rain barrel (i.e. not city water). This increase in consumption is reflected in my number of units charged.  
 
I mean, the rate hike is about 10% for domestic use, for the first 150 cubic meters. You're paying less than $3 per cubic meter (1,000 litres), and you get the first 150,000 litres at that rate. The service rates remain the same on the most part, it's just the actual usage that changes, according to the brochure that was i:ncluded with the bill.  
 
So those of you who have substantial rate hikes - yeah you need to look at your consumption. Either you're using more for some reason, or you have a phantom leak, or something got messed up with a reading, etc. Check your units used compared to previously bills.  
 
Also, Adam that story is from 2016, so not for the current hike.

needed a raise? 30% increase really? I guess I have to become a d#ck, rationing the water around our house now! Just another reason to loathe the City of Brandon public services. What am I paying for? Every time I open an envelope it makes me question this city more and more. Do they think $300 water bills and lack of public services are going to attract new citizens or make it easy for young homeowners to enter into the housing market? All for Infrastructure improvements my A$$! But hey, name 4 other places in the province where rates are higher to justify your increase. You neglect to mention what those places get for their dollar.  
 
Edited by Dan Forsythe, 2017-08-21 21:22:25

Dan Forsythe said "needed a raise? 30% increase really? I guess I have to become a d#ck, rationing the water around our house now! Just another reason to loathe the City of Brandon public services. What am I paying for? Every time I open an envelope it makes me question this city more and more. Do they think $300 water bills and lack of public services are going to attract new citizens or make it easy for young homeowners to enter into the housing market? All for Infrastructure improvements my A$$! But hey, name 4 other places in the province where rates are higher to justify your increase. You neglect to mention what those places get for their dollar.     Edited by Dan Forsythe, 2017-08-21 21:22:25"

Water rates did not go up 30%, they went up less than 10% by my calculations based on the brochure given with the new bill. They did go up substantially *last* year, the CBC article Adam posted is from 2016. They didnt go up for 5 years prior to that according to the same article. Freezes are always a bad idea because freak out when they finally do go up and they jump to catch up to all the increases that didn't happen.  
 
As for rationing, if you're concerned about water bill maybe you should. Our water bill is a fraction of what a lot of people are quoting here and that's with 6 people in the house including washing cloth diapers several times a week, plus we homeschool so the kids and Ii are home all day, everyday. We're careful with our consumption, and our bills reflect that.  
 
For value on the dollar, you can live in Winnipeg where they have a bad habit of dumping raw sewage into the Red and then blame the fact you cant swim in Lake Winnipeg on the shore birds, and the water routinely is brown and undrinkable coming from the tap, still after years of trying to fix the problem.

We pay ours monthly and last month was $23 and this one $49...so ya, it doubled....but I also water grass and plants often as summer is short and it should be back down again.

I now we all complain when our bills go up, but water and sewer rates are pretty reasonable compared to cable TV and internet.  
I know I pay way more for those non-essential services (some people may not agree) than for water which is way more important to daily living.

Just to further clarify, the CBC article speaks to the Public Utilities ruling that allows the City to increase water and sewer over a 3 year period that we're currently in the middle of. 12 percent last year, another 11 percent recently on July 1 and another 10 percent on July 1, 2018. When compounded, by next summer it will have amounted to a 36.6% increase over the three years.  
 
Here's the actual PUB order from 2016:  
http://www.brandon.ca/images/pdf/utilities/60-16_PUB_order.pdf  
 
Edited by Adam, 2017-08-22 08:07:31

Yeah, no idea why? Mine was $40 last time. Now it is $71

I live in an apartment and my bill went from $34.00 to $69.00. I don't have to water grass or plants. CRAZY!!!

What burns me is that none of the experts (best of the best out there) had the foresight to raise our water rates GRADUALLY over the years. They just nail us with an almost 40% increase over the next three years and explain it away that our water has always been cheap. Any company with a non-essential service/product that does that to it’s customers would be looking for new customers. Only the government can do this because they know we need the water. Expansion. Improvement. Essential. Whatever. Business people who have minimal foresight go bankrupt. The city won’t go bankrupt because the city continues to run off the backs of the tax payers. Just raise taxes, just raise rates and even when there is a surplus. It’s infuriating and disappointing.  
 
I don’t blame kids today for leaving Brandon before or after they’ve completed their schooling here. There’s nothing enticing about increased taxes, rates and decreased services. I say this because – and bear with me it sways from topic – at the last council meeting, it was suggested by a councillor for city administration to come up with “something” to get (force?) residents to keep CITY-owned sidewalks clear of snow/ice. I do this, always have – voluntarily. Most of us are already voluntarily mowing CITY-owned boulevards/lanes in the summer and clearing CITY-owned sidewalks in winter. Why don't our high taxes pay for this? My point is, just how much does the city expect residents to do for them for free and still accept their constant increases? Budget tax dollars & other revenue properly and the city could afford to keep up their own properties which they should! Raise the water rates by 40% over 3 years and then still expect residents to smile and keep city owned property clear and clean? Why? What’s the incentive? A well-kept, pretty city? No comment. How in good faith can the city expect so much from residents and then keep demanding more from us than they provide to us?

now I'm worried about my next water bill....

I used to work in a municipal office in a small town and the biggest issue when someone had a higher than normal water consumption was the toilet(s) in the house. That is one of the few places water can "leak" without showing up on the floor somewhere and be noticed. And it does it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The best way to check it is to put a few drops of food coloring in the back of the toilet, enough to colour the water. If the coloured water shows up in the bowl, then the flapper is leaking. It is a relativiely low cost and easy thing to replace yourself if your handy. The other way, as mentioned, is to check your actual water meter. If the house is going to be empty for a few hours, record your meter reading before you leave and as soon as you get home to see if it has moved.  
There is a youtube video of a person with a mysterious water use that discovered their cat had learned to flush the toilet for entertainment when the house was empty...so check for paw prints.

As the original posted I typed a long response, hit post, only to find out I had "timed out".... the message said it was saved and when I logged in I couldn't find it.. I have emailed ebrandon admin for assistance, however, have not had a response (it was early morning) - anyway... I giggled at the last posters commend about food coloring.. that was in my post as well.. done that about a month ago.. nothing showed up.. but cool way to check!!

of Brandon left their toilets running last quarter. LOL. Face Palm. Head Shake.  
 
Edited by Dan Forsythe, 2017-08-22 16:32:51

Dumb question for those with higher bills. Have you compared the water usage? People are complaining about the increased bills yet if more water was consumed then you would get a higher bill.

Mine was the same as always, no increase.

Dan Forsythe said "of Brandon left their toilets running last quarter. LOL. Face Palm. Head Shake.     Edited by Dan Forsythe, 2017-08-22 16:32:51"

If the water rates went up 10% and your bill went up 50% then where did the water go? If your toilet has been running for one month this quarter and your bill went way up and you do nothing....imagine how high it will be next quarter when it runs for 3 full months. Who is going to be slapping you in the head then?

My toilet is not running. It is quite stationary actually. My meter is not moving. It is in the same location it has been in for the last 50 years. I have flushed the toilets and ran the water to make sure it is operational. There has not been any infrastructure work on our block in the last 3 months. I have not had any abnormal useage in the last 3 months and have actually compared my 2nd quarter bill year over year. I have actually asked surrounding homeowners to confirm I was not out to lunch. Their bills were also up about 30%. Any other thoughts? Anybody know the city's position on grey water systems?  
 
Edited by Dan Forsythe, 2017-08-22 19:29:04

on where my last message was saved to. Anyway... checked the meter, no water at all is being used in the house.. .it is still slowly turning.. hmmmmmmm should it be? I mean it's slow but still turning... that "slow" could def. add up! Although we did this before, we have again just put food coloring in the toilet tanks... we will see how that goes... shoot shouldn't have had those 3 cups of coffee. LOL

BTALK said "on where my last message was saved to. Anyway... checked the meter, no water at all is being used in the house.. .it is still slowly turning.. hmmmmmmm should it be? I mean it's slow but still turning... that "slow" could def. add up! Although we did this before, we have again just put food coloring in the toilet tanks... we will see how that goes... shoot shouldn't have had those 3 cups of coffee. LOL "

I have done the same for messages where it times out. If you log back in, go to the discussion, then hit reply as if you were going to post a reply it should bring back your last post. If you have posted since then I don't think it saves the post.