LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Fort Simpson village council passed the first and second readings of a bylaw to reduce the cost of bulk water to customers outside municipal boundaries to $16 from $35 per cubic metre on Feb. 15.

The village is in the process of amending its bulk water bylaw for out-of-town customers. - April Hudson/NNSL photo

A third reading of the bylaw is required before it can come into effect.

The bulk water rate was raised in May 2014 to $35 from $10.80 per cubic metre. That increase was brought up during a contracts committee meeting in early February, at which point the committee suggested decreasing the rate to $18.

During council, that suggestion was lowered to $16.

Mayor Darlene Sibbeston said the issue came up after water hauler PR Contracting, run by Pat Rowe, told senior administrative officer Beth Jumbo he has been losing money because it is cheaper for commercial and industrial customers to find alternate ways of getting water.

Deputy mayor Jarret Hardisty said $18 per cubic metre is still on the high side.

"We're not supporting people in the community. By overcharging, we're going to make some revenue but at the same time we're not going to make any because industry is going to see that number and it's going to scare them off," he said.

The $16 suggestion was ultimately the one council voted on. However, Sibbeston said the decision is an interim one until more research can be done on how much it costs the village to produce water.

"We're not saying this is the end of the story," Sibbeston said.

"We have to do something right now."

Jumbo said water treatment plant operator Steve Squirrel calculated out the cost of making water at between $30 and $35.

"(That) factors everything into the process," she said.

"Just to make sure ... nothing has been missed, I'm going to go through it with the water treatment plant operator and get a clear number."

Coun. Chuck Blyth said the village needs to determine its fixed and marginal costs as well as the total output at the plant in order to make an informed decision.

"Some places are just more expensive (to produce water) than others," he said.

"If we're going to pump water out at a loss ... we have to be doing it for the right reasons, and we have to base it on the right data."

The bulk water rate for out-of-town customers will remain at $35 until the bylaw passes its third reading.