Water is a stand-alone utility, fully funded by the water bills. There are no tax dollars going into water. Water is taken from Wabigoon Lake at the Golf Course, and treated in a modern plant on Wilde Street. Dryden is on a Ministry of Environment water monitoring program, and our water is of excellent quality.
Water bills are sent out the first of each month. If not paid by the 23rd of the month, a penalty of 1% is added. If not paid within the month following, water may be turned off. In all cases where water is turned off, there is a fee of $28.99 plus GST for turning it back on again. If service starts or ends within a month, the bill is pro-rated.
The amount of the water bill is determined by the class of customer, set down by City bylaw. There are a number of premises metered in the City of Dryden, and actual metered consumption is used to adjust the bylaw on the basis of consumption as much as possible. However, you should look at your bill as a fee for the privilege of water being there when you turn on a tap, rather than as a bill for a particular quantity of water. If you have a question about your bill, or wish to have water turned on or off, call the Water Billing Clerk at 223-1111.
The best way to keep your water bill down is by conservation. Even though the water comes from Wabigoon Lake, there is a definite cost for the power consumed to pump it and the chemicals used to treat it, and if total cost is more than total revenue, all water bills go up. If our consumption exceeds our capacity to produce water, we will face restrictions on water use, or a huge expense to expand. For tips on saving water, see Water Conservation.
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