2026 Budget & Financial Plan: FAQ
Why are you proposing a rate increase?
We understand that increasing utility rates presents a challenge for residents, and we recognize how this impacts household budgets. We want to assure you that this decision was not made lightly.
We must invest in critical infrastructure upgrades to continue providing safe, reliable, and environmentally responsible wastewater transmission and treatment and to meet the growing demands of our communities and industries.
What does this mean for my utility bill?
The recommended rate increase will mean an average increase to the ratepayer of $11/month. This equates to just $1.38 a day, per household, for every flush, drain, and shower.
As a publicly owned utility, every dollar collected through the rate goes directly back into maintaining and improving the wastewater system. There’s no profit margin, just reinvestment in safe, reliable service.
How does the utility rate get set?
Many factors are considered when recommending and eventually setting a utility rate. ARROW Utilites is a not for profit so all revenues, including the rates you pay need to be reinvested into the utility.
- ARROW Utilities looks at long-term capital planning when determining a recommended utility rate. This planning helps determine what investments need to be made to ensure infrastructure is maintained, enhanced and meets the needs of increased demand. Stantec developed a 10-year Utility Master Plan which was reviewed by the Board in early 2025. The plan identified infrastructure needs but Administration has also identified the historic absence of financial reserves to address decades of deferred investment in a now 40-year-old system.
- ARROW Utilities looks at usage and demand on the wastewater system when determining a recommended utility rate. When it is anticipated or planned that usage is going up, additional funding also needs to be planned for to support the operations and infrastructure.
- ARROW Utilities must consider construction costs and inflation when determining a recommended utility rate. These costs are outside of the control of ARROW but they impact the cost of delivering the service. These increases need to be considered and account for.
- ARROW Utilities looks at total operating costs when it determines a recommended utility rate. Operational costs include things like staff to operate the transmission and treatment of the wastewater, electricity costs, and everything in between. If these costs change, the change must be considered when recommending a utility rate.
- Once ARROW Utilities reviews and considers all the impacts to the overall costs of running the utility, a few rate options are brought forward to the board. The board consists of one delegate from each of the 13 member municipalities. The rates are debated, and the board approves a recommended rate.
- This approved wholesale rate is then provided to each member municipality. Each municipality considers and approves the rate individually as part of its budget process. The approved rate from ARROW Utilities is one part of the total utility rate within each municipality. Depending on the impact of other municipal-specific infrastructure or operations needs, each municipality approves a unique utility rate that could be higher, lower, or the same as the rate provided by ARROW Utilities.
Who makes the final decision on the rate increase?
ARROW Utilities is governed by a board consisting of one delegate from each of the 13 member municipalities. Each year, ARROW administration brings forward rate options to the board. The rates are debated, and the board approves a recommended rate.
What was the rate before?
ARROW Utilities is proposing/advancing a necessary rate increase from $2.05/m3 to $2.75/m3.
What is the rate increase paying for?
These necessary rate increases ensure that ARROW Utilities can continue contributing to a safe wastewater system. Every day, residents from 13 communities, local businesses and industries generate roughly 80 million litres of wastewater. You might not realize that we’re constantly working behind the scenes to treat all that water, ensuring it’s safely removed and processed. This protects your quality of life, keeps our environment clean, and means you never have to worry about the unseen impact of this essential process. By advancing these rate adjustments now, we are securing a reliable utility system that prevents negative impacts on your daily life and our shared environment.
We are exploring all options to help stabilize rates for ratepayers in the long term.
Is the rate increase being used to pay for the Train 4 expansion?
The Train 4 Expansion is necessary. This critical upgrade to ARROW Utilities’ Wastewater Treatment Plant will significantly increase plant capacity. The expansion is vital now to provide redundancy as a contingency and meet the forecasted wastewater treatment demand up to the year 2055, as current capabilities are at their limit.
Through exceptional fiscal advocacy, ARROW Utilities secured $50 million in provincial funding for the vital Train 4 expansion. This significant investment of 25 per cent of the total project costs ensures that the additional capacity needed for future population and industrial growth is possible.
A small portion of the rate increase is going towards this increased plant capacity, but it is also supporting ongoing operations, reserve funding and other necessary capital maintenance and investment.