On May 23, 2023, Bylaw 2024-01 was passed to increase the Utility Rates as of July 1, 2024 as follows:

WATER RATES

The following monthly billing rates shall be charged and levied against all commercial and residential consumers within the Town of Milestone limits from the town’s waterworks where a meter has been installed:

Consumption                            Charge

0 to 3,000 Imp Gallons             $52.67 Minimum

3,001 to 4,000 Imp Gallons       $5.00 per 1,000 Imp Gallons (or portion thereof)

4,001 to 999,999 Imp Gallons   $7.50 per 1,000 Imp Gallons (or portion thereof)

The following monthly billing rates shall be charged and levied against all consumers outside the Town of Milestone limits from the town’s waterworks where a meter has been installed:

Consumption                            Charge

0 to 3,000 Imp Gallons             $52.67 Minimum

3,001 to 4,000 Imp Gallons       $5.00 per 1,000 Imp Gallons (or portion thereof)

4,001 to 999,999 Imp Gallons   $7.50 per 1,000 Imp Gallons (or portion thereof)

SEWAGE RATES

Consumers who own or occupy premises drained or required by bylaw to be drained into the Town’s sewage system shall pay for such a Billing Rental or service charge based on water consumption in accordance with the following:

The flat rate per month per connection is $20.34

HOUSEHOLD GARBAGE AND RECYCLE RATES

Consumers who own or occupy premises shall pay for such a Billing Rental or service charge based on the following:

Waste per month per cart                      $11.00

Recycle per month per cart                    $11.17

INFRASTRUCTURE RATES

Consumers who own or occupy premises to which property is serviced with Town utility services shall pay the following

The flat rate per month per connection is $27.84

INTEREST CHARGES

Consumers who have outstanding balances over 30 days will be charged an interest rate of 1.5 percent on the balance owing.

2024 Utility Review and Rate Increase Information:

In the first quarter of 2024, a comprehensive utility review was conducted to ensure it was collecting enough revenue to cover utility operations, maintenance, and capital reinvestment costs or replacement projects. The review revealed that the current utility rates were not sufficiently covering all necessary operational costs. To ensure the Town’s utility services are adequately funded to meet the community’s needs, the Town will raise utility rates effective July 1, 2024, and customers will see the increased rates on the third quarter utility notice at the beginning of July. The Town Council adopted the new rates as per Bylaw No. 2024-01. The bylaw was then sent to Saskatchewan Municipal Board (SMB) and was approved on May 23, 2024.

What will the rate increase be used for?
The rate increase will cover regular operations, maintenance, capital replacement, and reinvestment costs.

Why is a rate increase needed now?
The Town of Milestone has not conducted a comprehensive utility review in years, even though the cost to provide services has continued to increase. If the rates do not increase, more severe or urgent increases may be needed in the future. To avoid an even larger funding gap and to fund future infrastructure needs, a rate increase, as seen in the utility review, is necessary now. The findings from the utility review can be found in Appendix A.

Residential Customers Rate Information
Residential customers can expect to see the water rate increase from $105.00 to $158.00 per quarter. The base rate covers 0-9,000 gallons, which did not change. Rates for residential water usage exceeding 9,000 gallons a quarter did not change.

Residential customers can expect the flat quarterly sewer rate to decrease from $90.00 to $61.00 per quarter.

Residents can expect to see the flat quarterly infrastructure rate increase from $60.00 to $83.50 per quarter.

The flat quarterly rate for recycling will increase from $29.70 to $33.50 per quarter.

The flat quarterly rate for waste will increase from $27.78 to $33.00 per quarter.

Outstanding Accounts
Despite transferring amounts to the tax roll in December of each year, there remains a significant number of outstanding accounts at year-end, as shown in the table below.

In order to address this, we have decided to implement an interest rate on these outstanding balances. Effective July 1, 2024, an interest rate of 1.5 percent will be applied to all outstanding amounts aged over 30 days.

Please see below for relevant documents and notices:

Power Outages

The Town of Milestone Public Works Department asks that we reduce water consumption during power outages.

This will help ensure adequate water supply in case of a fire and alleviate the burden on our sewage lift stations.

We appreciate everyone’s efforts to conserve water as part of daily life; conserving water is especially important during a power failure.

Pre-authorized debit withdrawal for Utility Billings 
The municipal office offers hassle-free automatic withdrawal of funds directly from your account to cover your utility billings. If you want to participate, please complete the attached Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD) form.

Payor’s PAD Agreement with fillable signature

WATER INFORMATION:

Reports to Consumers

• 2023 Drinking Water Quality and Compliance
• 2022 Drinking Water Quality and Compliance
• 2021 Drinking Water Quality and Compliance 
• 2020 Drinking Water Quality and Compliance
• 2019 Drinking Water Quality and Compliance
• 2018 Drinking Water Quality and Compliance

The Drinking Water Treatment Plant

The Town of Milestone began constructing the Water Treatment Plant in 2016 and completed it in 2018.  The project cost was approximately $1.8M, with a Federal Contribution of $659,523.

The following chart illustrates the quarterly water rate increases for the Town of Milestone over the past few years: