Editor,
I am glad you brought up the issue of how expensive water is in Meaford. I have been considering writing to you for some time and now is my opportunity.
When I arrived in Meaford in 2003, my water/sewage bill was $25 for 2 months. Today, it is in the vicinity of $88 for one month. That is a 704% increase over a period of just over 20 years. It is my highest utility cost, being double the cost of natural gas, and more than double the cost of hydro. I dread that bill arriving every month. I appreciate the challenges of raising funds in a small municipality to cover infrastructure costs but I feel the municipality should seek other ways of raising revenue without constantly hitting us with higher and higher water bills.
A few years ago, the municipality put out an urgent request to the residents of Meaford to exercise more care in the use of water because the town was facing healthy infrastructure costs to update our water system. Remarkably, the residents complied and water usage dropped. Soon the town was bleating that revenues had dropped as a result, and that they were going to have to raise water rates. It has never stopped since. Sometimes, we just can’t win.
David Blackburn, Meaford
