Water rates for City of Kelowna residents will rise this year.
This week, city council unanimously endorsed a recommendation from the city manager that pricing adjustments be made for inflation.
According to the city, “for a single-family home, the recommended rate adjustments will result in an average single-family home that typically uses 40 cubic metres of water seeing a cost increase of $2.98 a month.”
The city says water rates in Kelowna have been some of the lowest in the valley and the nation.
A graph from the city shows that the average user pays around $54 a month, with that about to jump to $57 a month.
So, just how much is 40 cubic metres of water? Well, one cubic metre is 1,000 litres (which, for those who love imperial measurements, is 264 gallons).
Multiply that by 40 and that’s 40,000 litres (10,560 gallons) — enough water every month to fill a box-shaped pool that’s 12 feet square and 10 feet high. Or, for a truly Okanagan comparison, 48 apple bins.
The Okanagan Basin Water Board says the average household consumes 1,032 litres of water each day (1.25 apple bins), with most of that going to outdoor landscaping during summer.
But subtract irrigation use, and the OBWB says the average household use is 391 litres a day (just under half an apple bin).
Agriculturally, the city agreed to those customers getting a six per cent rise in costs.
More information about Okanagan water usage is available on the Okanagan Basin Water Board’s website.