Wastewater Fee

What is the wastewater fee used for?

• The wastewater fee on the water bill contains a fixed-charge component based on the size of the service and a consumption-charge component based on water consumed. The revenue collected is used to fund capital projects largely related to alleviating basement flooding, along with operational expenditures related to sewer maintenance, sewage pumping stations and sewage treatment plants.
• Increased summer consumption for uses that typically do not return water to the sewer system (for example, filling pools, washing cars, watering grass, etc.) is not included in the calculation of the wastewater fee.
• The City, on behalf of its residents, maintains 1,800 kilometres of sewers, 45 pumping stations and 2 major pollution control plants. These assets have a value of approximately $2 billion.
• There is a continued need to comply with ever-more-stringent environmental regulations, which achieve important environmental objectives but are costly to implement. In addition, the effects of climate change are resulting in more frequent severe storms that increase the risks of flooding in the city. As a result, the City of Windsor has spent $110 million to upgrade the Lou Romano Sewage Treatment Plant and $67 million on the Mario Sonego Storm Retention Treatment Basin (RTB). Additional flood mitigating projects, as outlined in the Sewer Master Plan, are currently being constructed by leveraging grant funding from senior levels of government.

Why is the wastewater fee paid as part of the water bill?

• The wastewater fee is a charge assessed on your Windsor Utilities Commission water bill, as sewer-related costs incurred by the City are excluded from the property tax bill.
• This methodology supports the “User Pay Principle,” since a majority of the wastewater fee–related costs are directly related to the amount of water discharged into the sewer system and treatment plants. The transparency of allowing consumers to monitor the amount of water used and the wastewater fee that they are being billed for allows them to reduce their water consumption, thus reducing the amount of wastewater fee that they pay.
• In 2021, City Council approved the Stormwater Financing Study recommendation to separate the sewer surcharge into two different fee structures: wastewater and stormwater. Effective January 1, 2025, the wastewater fee is still based on your water usage, but the stormwater fee is now based on the amount of impervious area (hard surfaces) on your property.