Why your water bill will go up later this year

The Public Utilities Commission of Sault Ste. Marie is seriously over budget on water services and an adjustment in local water bills will almost certainly be necessary later this year, a PUC meeting was told Wednesday.

A mid-year budget review presented by Terry Greco, the PUC's vice president of finance, shows an expected loss of $1.352 million, compared to a budgeted loss of $869,960.

Much of the difference, Greco said, results from lower-than-expected water consumption and a record number of watermain breaks last winter.

In 1994, an unusually high number of frozen watermains was paid for by a special surcharge of $20 a customer that raised about $500,000, said Mark Howson, the PUC's current chair.