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The cost of receiving utilities from the City West Kelowna is going up.
West Kelowna council approved the 2025 rate structure which will see residents across the city pay more for water and sewer. The cost of curbside garbage and recycling pickup is remaining the same in 2025.
Chief financial officer Warren Everton says quarterly billing will increase by $31.51 for those on the Powers Creek water system with Rose Valley water utility users paying an additional $21.51 every three months.
The difference lies within the increases for water.
Powers Creek users will be paying an extra $25 every three months or about $100 per year while Rose Valley users will see a smaller $15 dollar quarterly increase or $60 a year.
“Rose Valley operating costs have increased moderately after ramping up in the last five years,” says Everton.
“We have had a lot of supply costs that have gone up.”
He spoke specifically to the cost of chemicals which he says tripled in price in 2024.
Sewer rates will go up about $6.51 every three months mainly due to the RDCO contract on the sewer plant.
The increase to Rose Valley users comes as the city continues to work through issues which has resulted in some users receiving less-than-ideal quality drinking water.
“I suspect there will be some residents up in Rose Valley that will be a bit grumbly about the fact that we have struggled somewhat in getting good, high quality water to every household in the community,” said Coun. Rick de Jong.
The councillor wanted to know if the city was aggressively seeking grants to help offset the costs end users are facing.
Every major project gets reviewed with an eye to grants, staff responded, saying an application for a grant for improvements to the Powers Creek system has been submitted.
“I wanted to be very clear from a public perspective that we are constantly, aggressively, looking at grant opportunities, not just for the water utility but across the organization,” added de Jong.
“I realize that for water utilities, the cost of chemicals went up dramatically in 2024 and that needed to be accounted for. This is a user pay system.”
