Cornwall water and sewer rates on the rise

The Town of Cornwall announced water and sewer rate increases when it presented its budget at last night's council meeting.

Rates for a single family home in the P.E.I. town will go up $24 a year, or about a five per cent, says town administrator Kevin McCarville.

This is the first increase in three years, said McCarville, and will cover repairs to the Cornwall lagoon that were completed last year, and up to five new projects in the coming year.

• Replacing a well by Westwood School that has had water quality issues.
• Installing a sewage lift station near the Cornwall lagoon.
• Replacing a sewer line and installing a fire-rated waterline along the Trans-Canada.
• Installing a fire-rated water line from the Dutch Inn to the causeway.
• A water study looking at the future water supply needs of the town.

"It's been my experience that water and sewer services are the number one thing that residents are prepared to pay for," said McCarville.

"Even at $525 a year for water and sewer, that's still only, really, like a buck fifty a day."

The costs for the new projects will be around $1 million.

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