{"id":9008,"date":"2025-07-29T15:35:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T18:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/?p=9008"},"modified":"2025-07-30T10:30:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T13:30:57","slug":"hearing-dates-set-for-region-of-queens-water-rate-hike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/2025\/07\/29\/hearing-dates-set-for-region-of-queens-water-rate-hike\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearing dates set for Region of Queens water rate hike"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

The Region of Queens Water Utility has proposed increasing water rates by more than 100 per cent. (Bluewater Sweden via Unsplash)<\/p><\/div>\n

Hearing dates have been set for the Region of Queens water rate hike application, as customers brace for their costs to double.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joanne Veinotte, the region\u2019s director of finance, told councillors in June that the water utility needs to bring revenue in line with costs immediately. The Region of Queens Water Utility’s 1,233 customers in Liverpool and Brooklyn bear the costs of the service.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese increases translate to an average annual increase of 106 per cent in the initial year, 3.8 in Year 2 and 2.7 in Year 3,” she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOver the last several years, the utility has struggled operationally with staffing, and the treatment plant was heavily damaged in July 2023 during a severe thunderstorm that destroyed a large amount of sensitive and expensive instrumentation and equipment at the site.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board has scheduled a public hearing for Thurs., Oct. 9 at 10:30 a.m. in council chambers on White Point Road.<\/span><\/p>\n

An evening session starting at 6 is also scheduled if it\u2019s needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

People can speak at the hearing, but they must register with the board by Sept. 17. Residents can also send written comments to the clerk of the board at PO Box 1692, Unit M, Halifax, NS B3J 3S3, by email at <\/span>board@novascotia.ca<\/span><\/a>, or by fax at 902-424-3919. The deadline for written submissions is also Sept. 17.<\/span><\/p>\n

People can request formal standing as an intervenor in the hearing. That allows you to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses. The deadline for applications for intervenor status is Aug. 22.<\/span><\/p>\n

The region hired consultants G.A. Isenor and Blaine Rooney to prepare its water rate study for the regulatory board.<\/span><\/p>\n

They found that the water utility will rack up a deficit of just over $1 million by the end of 2025\/26, if rates don\u2019t increase immediately. That shortfall will swell to $3.344 million by 2027\/28 without higher charges.<\/span><\/p>\n

For residential customers, the average quarterly bill is now $82.61. That could rise to $169.66 this year, $174.63 in 2026\/27 and $177.39 in 2027\/28.<\/span><\/p>\n

The average customer currently pays $330.44 a year. If the rate hikes are approved, that will rise to $678.64 annually in the first year and $709.56 after three years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The annual fire protection charge paid by the municipality, currently $201,531, <\/span>could increase by 99.3 per cent to $401,599 for 2025\/26, $495,931c<\/span>for 2026\/27 and $503,625 for 2027\/28.<\/span><\/p>\n

Queens water customers had to endure an almost nine-week boil water order<\/a> in summer 2023. That was after a lightning strike heavily damaged the water treatment plant.<\/span><\/p>\n

The region gave a one-time 70 per cent discount on water bills, after public demand.<\/span><\/p>\n

This time, though, customers likely won\u2019t get a break from significant increases to their water bills.<\/span><\/p>\n

The region claimed in a news release<\/a> in June that its customers pay the lowest rates in Nova Scotia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The new rates would put it in line with the Town of Lunenburg, but higher than the Town of Bridgewater and the Cape Breton region.<\/span><\/p>\n

Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian said comparing rates in Queens to other municipalities isn\u2019t as straightforward as it seems.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis proposed change to the rate, it brings us into alignment with a lot of ‘like’ municipalities, a lot of our neighbouring municipalities who have water utility systems. So I think that is important to understand what we look like in comparison to a lot of the other municipal units around us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The regulatory and appeals board has the power to set rates as requested, order a lower increase or an even higher one.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can read the documents filed with the region’s water rate application on the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board website here<\/a>, by entering M12363 in the field to go directly to the matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Listen to the audio version of this story below<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/newwaterratehearingjuly2925.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hearing dates have been set for the Region of Queens water rate hike application, as customers brace for their costs to double. Joanne Veinotte, the region\u2019s director of finance, told councillors in June that the water utility needs to bring revenue in line with costs immediately. The Region of Queens Water Utility’s 1,233 customers in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,5],"tags":[48,1735,39,3232,24,1374,226,2052,1015,1153,2613,366,1734],"class_list":["post-9008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community-news","category-news-posts","tag-brooklyn","tag-joanne-veinotte","tag-liverpool","tag-nova-scotia-regulatory-and-appeals-board","tag-region-of-queens","tag-region-of-queens-water-utility","tag-scott-christian","tag-sewer","tag-wastewater","tag-water","tag-water-customers","tag-water-rates","tag-water-utility"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9008"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9017,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9008\/revisions\/9017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}