As if everything else that we as residents of Chatham-Kent are dealing with isn’t enough, we recently received a fiscal bomb shell with news that we’ll be dealing with significant increases in our water and wastewater bills over the next decade.

During its Oct. 17 meeting, CK’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) heard that capital costs there are expected to hit almost $1.2 billion, which will mean hefty rate hikes for those of us attached to the system.

An estimate from Watson and Associates projects the average cost of a water bill will rise to $1,157 from its current $605 per year, while wastewater costs are estimated to jump from $630 annually to $1,199.

Even spread out over 10 years, that’s a bitter pill to swallow, and odds are those projections are low as we’ve all borne witness to skyrocketing costs for a good few years now and I’ve no doubt the next decade will not be any kinder.

Apparently the PUC is now forced to follow through with overdue projects, according to municipal treasurer and chief financial officer Gord Quinton, some of which have escalated from $10 million to $40 million.

Sadly, this is not a unique situation in CK where projects that could have and should have been undertaken earlier were not and now ratepayers will be forced to pay the bill for previous councils and commissions that didn’t have the political will or fortitude to do them in a timely........

© Sarnia Observer