The first water rate hike in over 20 years is planned for Richmond County and Port Hawkesbury in time for summer.
The Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board held a public hearing on the matter, last week.
Town of Port Hawkesbury Director of Finance says inflation is to blame for the first increase in the Landrie Lake Water Utility since 2002.
“All costs have risen in general life, which the Landrie Lake utility would not have been excluded from. So just the overall general increase in cost for the utility needed to be taken into account for the price of water that we sell to the customers,” he explained.
“The Landrie Lake Water Utility supplies raw water to the Town of Port Hawkesbury Water Utility. The Town of Port Hawkesbury Water Utility then treats that water and distributes it to the residents and businesses in the region.”
He assures concerned residents that their costs will not subsidize any of the work done by EverWind Fuels.
Earlier in the year, EverWind requested a possible 10 million litres of water a day to supply its proposed green hydrogen project.
That amount, according to Port Hawkesbury Councillor Iain Langley, is about one third of the volume that can be taken without making an effect on the water source.
Langley says when we experienced an unprecedented drought last summer, lake levels were monitored through engineering and hydrological studies to know what affects the average capacity of Landrie Lake.
Luciano says there will be another public hearing before bills go up for Port Hawkesbury Water Utility customers.
