City planning to raise septic rates

For one local homeowner, who currently pays $380 per year for the service, the rate will jump to $830 per year, an increase of 120%.

For Lisa Kinnee with Blockbuster Drain and Sewer Service, that’s concerning.

“Our concern is I have staff to pay. This is not a pleasant job sometimes,” she says. “And looking five, six years into the future, I can’t be charging a regular senior citizen a thousand dollars to pump out her septic tank.”

Another client of hers is Peter Wang, who owns three mobile home parks in Prince George.

“In the past, the cost to pump out one tank was about $450. So now, it’s going to be another $450 on top of that. So that dramatically increases our cost.” He says the additional fee will add about $40,000 per year in expenses.

In a letter written to Wang, the City says: “While we understand that the new fee will be an increase in your operational costs, the City has been expending considerable costs at the Shelley Lagoon for maintenance and operations over the past several years. The intent of the fee is to create a cost recovery revenue to pay for the ongoing maintenance and operational costs at the Shelley Lagoon rather than it being borne by the sanitary sewer utility. The sanitary sewer utility is intended to provide funding for the services provided for the residents and businesses connected to the City’s sanitary sewer system inside the City limits, not a satellite system such as the Shelley Lagoon.”

by Cheryl Jahn

City planning to raise septic rates

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