Municipal Water Pricing - Summary Tables

2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey

Methodology

The 2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey (MWWS) collected data on municipal water use and pricing for the 2009 calendar year.

Survey Sample

The survey was sent out to all municipalities with a population greater than 1000 and to a sample of those under 1000, except municipalities on Federal Lands and First Nations.

The sample of municipalities with less than 1000 residents increased to 1000 municipalities in the 2009 survey, compared to 630 in 2006 and 616 in 2004 (no municipalities below 1000 population were included in the 2001 or previous samples). In spite of this change, the data is still comparable to previous survey cycles as any effect on the aggregate statistics is negligible due the very small overall population of responding municipalities in this size group.

The 2009 survey sample contained a total of 2779 municipalities, compared to 2409 municipalities in the 2006 sample. Forty municipalities that were included in the 2006 sample were merged into existing or new municipalities or districts in the 2009 sample. An additional 410 municipalities were added to the 2009 sample, including 400 additional municipalities with population below 1000 (as mentioned above), and another 10 municipalities that crossed the 1000 population threshold and were therefore automatically included in the survey sample.

The population estimates used for each municipality are based on Statistics Canada's population estimates for census subdivisions on July 1, 2009.


Response Rate and Representativeness

The response rate to the survey varies by question; please refer to the "Responding Population" column in each table to find the exact responding population for each statistic.

Initial survey responses were supplemented with call-backs to large municipalities and Internet searches for readily available information. Some missing records were imputed from data collected in 2006, after adjusting for changes in the population in the intervening years. For the 2009 data set, imputed data was only used for the analysis on water and sewer rate type; all other analysis were conducted using data submitted in 2009 only. In the 2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater summary database, the source of each record (2009 survey or imputed from 2006) is indicated; therefore the non-imputed totals or averages can be obtained, if desired.

In 2009 the survey collected information on one or more key statistics from 1488 municipalities (with a population of 27.0 million). Imputing from 2006 for non-response where possible brought these values up to 1688 municipalities, accounting for 30.0 million Canadians.

The data reported here has been compiled directly from values collected through the 2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey (MWWS). No statistical techniques or extrapolation has been used to render the information representative of the entire Canadian population. When interpreting the survey results, the reader should always refer to the responding population, which is indicated for each statistic presented in this report.

Changes since 2006

The Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey underwent significant revisions and modifications since the 2006 survey cycle. Changes made to the survey questionnaire and to the method of data analysis have allowed greater clarity and precision in survey results. However, in some cases these changes have affected the comparability of the 2009 results with previous cycles' data. In 2006 and previous survey cycles, for municipalities that had more than one pricing scheme (for different water distribution systems or different areas of the municipality), only that which applied to the largest number of people was retained for the analysis. In 2009, all of the various pricing schemes and their associated population were retained. In addition, the 2009 analysis only used imputed data from 2006 in the analysis of water and sewer rate type, while the 2006 analysis used imputed data for many of the statistics.

As in previous survey cycles, average residential water and sewer rates have been calculated for various levels of consumption (10 m3/month, 25 m3/month and 35 m3/month). In 2009, for the first time, we have also calculated average residential water and sewer rates for the average monthly household

consumption. This calculation was done by first calculating the average monthly water consumption per capita in each municipality, then multiplying by 2.5 (the average number of persons per household in Canada), to give the average household water consumption. Then, the water and sewer rate for that level of consumption was determined. Finally, a weighted average of the results in the different municipalities was taken to find the average water and sewer rates, for average monthly consumption, for Canada overall and by province and size group.

Other Tables Available

In most cases, the tables in this document present data for water & sewer rates combined, and include both volumetric and flat rates (as indicated in the table titles). However, a full suite of tables has been produced with the 2009 data set, in a variety of different configurations, including tables that present water-only and sewer-only rates, and tables that present information from only those water systems with volumetric rates, or only flat rates. The same tables are also available for Commercial water and sewer rates. Due to the large number of configurations possible the entire suite of tables is not published in this document. However, additional tables can be provided upon request.

 

Glossary

Assessed charges - The amount paid for water and/or wastewater services is not based on the volume of water used, but differs depending on customer attributes, such as: property value, frontage, number of plumbing fixtures, number of bedrooms, etc.

Automated meter reading - Water meter data is automatically collected and transferred to a central database for billing, troubleshooting and analyzing. Automated meter reading technologies include handheld, mobile or network technologies based on telephony platforms (wired and wireless), radio frequency or powerline transmission.

Base charge– A fee that is applied each billing cycle in addition to any volumetric charges, and regardless of the level of consumption.

Customer water audit - Surveys of individual customers’ (commercial, institutional, industrial or residential) water use to educate customers about the wise use of water and to help them find ways to conserve water inside and outside their homes and businesses.

Equivalent full-time staff - Number of staff hours dedicated to water demand management or water conservation, divided by number of hours worked by a full-time staff member in a year.

Block rate - A type of volumetric rate where several preset consumption blocks are associated with a different unit price of water. For each billing period, the customer pays the unit rate of the lowest block until he/she has passed that consumption level, at which point he/she pays the unit rate of the next block until he/she has passed that consumption level, and so on.

  • Increasing block rate (IBR): The unit price of water increases in successive blocks of the rate schedule
  • Decreasing block rate (DBR): The unit price of water decreases in successive blocks of the rate schedule

Capital expenditure - The costs for capital projects including reinvestment in the existing system and new investment for upgrades and expansions to handle growth. Include both contracted capital work and internal costs associated with capital such as wages for capital engineering staff i.e. design, tendering, studies, etc. Capital projects cover equipment and large maintenance expenditures that cannot be funded through the operating budget.

Constant unit rate - Customers are charged a uniform amount per unit of water used per billing period.

Flat rate pricing - Customers pay a fixed amount regardless of their consumption. All customers of the same type (ex. residential-single family) pay the same amount.

Imputation - The process of estimating a missing value that a survey respondent failed to provide. The estimate can be imputed from the subject's responses to similar surveys in previous years, for example, or calculated using various statistical methods.

Maintenance and repairs – Wastewater - Sum of the maintenance costs incurred in 2009 for the sewer system(s) and the wastewater treatment plant(s), as applicable in your jurisdiction. Excludes capital costs (i.e. only include costs for maintenance and repairs, not replacement). Includes wages, supplies, contracted services, energy, etc.

Maintenance and repairs – Water - Sum of the maintenance costs incurred in 2009 for the water distribution system(s) and the water treatment plant(s), as applicable in your jurisdiction. Excludes capital costs (i.e. only include costs for maintenance and repairs, not replacement). Includes wages, supplies, contracted services, energy, etc.

Minimum charge– A minimum fee that is applied each billing cycle regardless of the level of consumption.

Municipal Water Pricing Database - The municipally aggregated database created from municipal water pricing survey results, using imputed values where necessary.

Municipality - A municipal-level jurisdiction (in an organizational sense and a spatial sense) as defined by Statistics Canada's Census Subdivisions. For the purpose of the Municipal Water Use and Pricing survey, municipalities may be grouped in some cases.

Operations (Wastewater) - Sum of the costs incurred in 2009 related to the operation (including administration) of the sewer system(s) and/or wastewater treatment plant(s), as applicable in your jurisdiction. Excludes capital costs and maintenance costs. Includes wages, supplies, contracted services, energy, etc.

Operations (Water) - Sum of the costs incurred in 2009 related to the operation (including administration) of the water distribution system(s) and/or water treatment plant(s), as applicable in your jurisdiction. Excludes capital costs and maintenance costs. Includes wages, supplies, contracted services, energy, etc.

Population served - The portion of the responding population receiving a particular water-related municipal service (i.e., water distribution, water treatment, wastewater collection or wastewater treatment, depending on the question).

Responding municipality - A municipality for which there was a response to a given question in the 2009 survey. A municipality that fails to respond to a particular survey question can still be considered a responding municipality if its response can be imputed from other available information (see “Imputation” above).

Responding population - The number of people for which the responding municipality (see “Responding municipality” above) provided a response to a given survey question. For example, if a municipality provided the percent of households metered for a water system serving 20 000 people and another water system serving 5000 people, the total responding population for residential water metering for that municipality is 25 000 people.

Stormwater reclamation or reuse - The deliberate use of stormwater - before or after treatment – for another application. Common applications of reclaimed or reused stormwater are agricultural irrigation, irrigation of golf courses, groundwater recharge and fire protection.

System leak detection and repair - A leak detection and repair program aims to reduce water loss from unknown leaks by detecting and repairing leaks in the water distribution system. There are various methods for detecting water distribution system leaks, including flow measurement surveys and the use of sonic leak-detection equipment (which identifies the sound of water escaping a pipe).

Volume-based charges (Volumetric rates) - The amount paid for water or wastewater services depends on the volume of water used or wastewater produced by a customer.

Wastewater reclamation or reuse - The deliberate use of wastewater – before or after treatment – for another application. Common applications of reclaimed or reused wastewater are agricultural irrigation, irrigation of golf courses, groundwater recharge and fire protection.