Upcoming Change in Water and Wastewater Payment Due Dates
Effective January 1, 2025, all payments for water and wastewater charges will be due 21 calendar days from the bill mailing date. This change will commence with the January bill, covering usage from November 1 to December 31.
The Town is responsible for water and wastewater readings, billing, and collection services. If you have questions regarding water and wastewater utility billing, please contact Water & Wastewater Billings & Accounts.
Billing
Water and wastewater fees are billed bi-monthly. The minimum bi-monthly charge for water and wastewater is $117.48, which includes 10 cubic meters of water using the standard residential 5/8" meter.
Please make all cheques payable to:
The Blue Mountains
32 Mill Street, PO Box 310
Thornbury, ON
N0H 2P0
Please remember to keep your water and wastewater bills for your records. Reprints are $5.00 per bill.
Want to go paperless?
Sign up for eBilling to have your water and/or wastewater bill delivered to your inbox. To change the email address that is on file, please re-register your account.
Want to set up automatic payments?
To set up automatic payments, please complete the Pre-Authorized Payment Plan Form (PAP) and submit it with a void cheque to Water & Wastewater Billings & Accounts.
Have you changed your address?
Please ensure that your correct mailing address is on file by completing the Change of Address Form and return it to the Town via email, fax 519-599-2474, or mail to:
Finance - First Floor
32 Mill Street, PO Box 310
Thornbury, ON
N0H 2P0
If you have sold your property, please call to arrange a meter reading at 519-599-3131 ext 221.
On April 2, 2024, Council passed By-law 2024-21 to Impose Water Charges and Sewer Charges
The Town remains committed to the Water Financial Plan, which provides a long-range strategy to help identify the cost of having a safe and sufficient water supply for the Town. This includes a plan for the repair or replacement of aging water infrastructure.
Frequently asked questions about water and wastewater rates
Why is my water bill suddenly very high?
This can be due to higher water consumption as a result of:
- A change in the household (more people, visitors)
- New appliances (lawn sprinklers, water-cooled air conditioner, heating system)
- There may be plumbing issues or leaks. To check for leaks, locate the “low flow indicator” – a small red triangle on your water meter. Make sure the water isn't running then check to see if the indicator is spinning. If it is, water is flowing through the meter indicating a leak. Property owners are responsible for all internal plumbing leaks.
Why are The Blue Mountains water and wastewater rates higher than the rates in many other municipalities?
- The Blue Mountains' long, thin and stretched out water distribution and sewage collection systems require more pumping stations, reservoirs and appurtenances. This increases the cost of maintaining the service.
- There are numerous ground elevation changes throughout the Town’s system as well. With respect to the Town’s water system, every 20 metres of vertical rise results in a new pressure zone, leading to higher operating and maintenance costs. For sanitary sewer purposes, more kilometres of pipe per unit results in the need for more pumping stations.
- Much of the Town’s water and wastewater system is installed in rock, increasing the capital costs significantly, and forcing more pumping stations to be installed. This results in higher operational costs.
- The Town has a long shoreline and low urban density. Therefore the Town must construct more kilometres of pipe per benefiting property than many other municipalities. More pipes in the ground mean higher costs to install and higher operational costs to flow the water from the Water Treatment Plant to water users.
- The Town’s water source, Georgian Bay, is a clean and reliable resource for drinking water. However, surface water sources do cost more per litre to treat than groundwater sources. This is because groundwater is not subject to the same level of contaminants as surface water. More potential contaminants equate to a more complex and costly treatment process.
- All of the costs associated with water and wastewater treatment must be recovered from the users that are benefitting from these services.
Water certificate requests are $65.00.
Send your request and cheque/money order payable to The Blue Mountains to:
Town of The Blue Mountains
Main Floor - Finance
32 Mill Street, PO Box 310
Thornbury ON, N0H 2P0You can request to receive your water and wastewater bill electronically through email. Please note that the form should be filled out only once for each utility account for which you wish to receive your bills electronically.
To opt into eBilling, please complete the eBilling Signup Form. If you wish to change your e-mail address, please re-register your account. If at any time you wish to unsubscribe from eBilling, please contact the Town and include your utility account number.
Billing has started for any property owner with an unconnected vacant lot fronting municipal water and/or wastewater services. These bills are sent out twice a year.
The 2023 rate for vacant lots is $21.48 per month for water and $17.03 per month for wastewater.
Some frequently asked questions regarding this Infrastructure Renewal Fee are listed below.
Why did I receive a bill when I am not connected to water and/or wastewater?
When infrastructure for water and wastewater is installed, it has to be designed:
- To accommodate all potential future homes that may at some point be built on properties along the length of the system; and
- To allow all homes along the length of the system to easily connect to the water and wastewater systems as they are built.
Every property is treated equally as the water and wastewater systems are built, taking into consideration any and all buildable lots that may connect to the system. The system cannot be customized for each property as they are built.
The Infrastructure Renewal Fee ensures that every lot that the system had to be built to potentially service, contributes to the future cost of replacing the system when needed.
How is the rate calculated?
The Infrastructure Renewal Fee is calculated using the annual costs associated with infrastructure replacement. Debt financing (the principal and interest payable on the amount borrowed to build the system), capital costs (the costs to build new or replace assets) and contributions to the asset replacement reserve funds (money the Municipality is setting aside to rebuild or replace the system) are considered infrastructure replacement costs.
Fees resulting from water use are not included in the Infrastructure Renewal Fee, since vacant lots are not current water users.
Do all connected users pay this fee as well?
The fee is designated for the replacement of water and wastewater infrastructure and is therefore billed equally to all users, regardless of whether they are currently connected to water and wastewater services.
How often will I receive a bill?
The utility bills for unconnected vacant lots will be sent semi-annually and will include 6 months’ worth of fees on each bill.
How much will my bill be?
The current Vacant Lot Fee is $20.15 per month for water and $17.03 per month for wastewater. For example, if you are able to connect to both water and wastewater, your bill for 6 months will be $223.08 ($20.15 x 6 for water plus $17.03 x 6 for wastewater).
What are my property taxes used for?
The property tax levy cannot be used to pay for water and wastewater services. Property taxes are used to pay for items not related to utilities such as roads, garbage pickup, fire and police services. Water and wastewater expenses must be paid separately as not every taxpayer has water and wastewater services to their home.
What will the fees be used for?
The fees will be used strictly for the replacement of water and wastewater infrastructure. They will be held in two reserve funds:
- The Water Asset Replacement Reserve Fund; and
- The Wastewater Asset Replacement Reserve Fund.
These Reserve Funds will earn interest and are reported on, annually.
Why is the fee not based on lot size?
After careful consideration and study, Council feels that the fairest methodology for calculating charges related to the expansion of water and wastewater systems to new areas is by using a “per unit” methodology, with an individual “lot” being the “unit”.
Please make all cheques payable to “The Blue Mountains.”
The Town's mailing address is 32 Mill Street, PO Box 310, Thornbury, ON N0H 2P0.
In Person
At the ‘Finance’ Reception Desk on the Main Floor at Town Hall, located at 32 Mill Street, Thornbury. Office Hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
Payment by debit card is accepted. Please note that Credit Cards are not accepted. There is a box marked ‘After Hours Mail’ outside the east doors where you can drop cheque/money order payments.
By Mail
Send your cheque/money order payable to The Blue Mountains to:
Town of The Blue Mountains
Main Floor - Finance
32 Mill Street, PO Box 310
Thornbury, ON N0H 2P0.Please include a payment stub, or indicate the account number on the payment. Please mail your cheque to Town Hall early enough to be received before the deadline. Cheques may be post-dated to ensure timely payment processing.
By Courier
Send your payment to:
Town of The Blue Mountains
Main Floor - Finance
32 Mill Street
Thornbury, ON N0H 2P0.At Your Bank
Ensure the teller selects Blue Mountains Town of (Utilities) and not your Tax account. After the first instance, there is a ‘Transfer Fee’ of $20 (per instance) for incorrect payments.
Online Banking
To set up online banking, search ‘Payees’ for Blue Mountains Town of (Utilities). When entering your account number, use all 12 digits, leaving out the decimal. Please note that if you have your taxes and water/wastewater set up for payment via internet, always ensure to select your ‘Utilities’ account when making water and/or wastewater payments and not your ‘Tax’ account. After the first instance, there is a ‘Transfer Fee’ of $20 (per instance) for incorrect payments.
Pre-Authorized Payment Plan
The Town offers a Pre-Authorized Payment Plan for water and/or wastewater customers. If you wish to enrol in the Pre-Authorized Payment Plan, please complete and return the Water and Wastewater Pre-Authorized Payment Form, along with a void cheque.
Please note: Property owners currently enrolled in the Pre-Authorized Payment Plan for Taxes must still complete a Water and Wastewater Pre-Authorized Payment Plan Form. Please include a “Void” cheque with this form.
Pre-authorized payments have many benefits:
- No cheques to write out
- Save on postage and transportation
- You don’t have to keep track of due dates or payments
- Avoid paying a penalty for missing a due date
Six Payments
There are six due dates each year (February, April, June, August, October and December) and the amount due will be automatically withdrawn from your bank account.
Are you eligible?
- If you own property in The Blue Mountains, you can take advantage of this convenient program.
- You can enrol any or all of your properties in this program.
- Your initial application is valid as long as you own the property and for as long as you want to stay in the plan. You do not have to reapply every year.
Withdrawal or Information Change
If you have information changes, sell your property, or want to withdraw from the Pre- Authorized Payment Plan, please notify the Town in person or in writing by the 1st day of the month.
Water and wastewater accounts are held in the name of the registered property owner only. As the owner of the property, you assume full responsibility for any water and/or wastewater charges and any associated charges that are billed to the property.
If it is your preference, you can arrange to have the utility bill sent under your name in care of the tenant at the tenant’s address by completing a Property Owner Tenant Account Guarantee Form. This agreement can only be put into effect or removed from the account at the beginning or end of a billing period (January 1, March 1, May 1, July 1, September 1, or November 1). The account will need to be current (have a $0.00 balance) when a tenant is added.
If the tenant fails to pay this account, the outstanding amount will be added to your property tax account, to be collected in the same manner as municipal taxes.
It is the responsibility of the property owner to notify the Town of any changes to the property’s tenancy.
To add a tenant to your account:
Complete the Property Owner Tenant Account Guarantee Form and mail or fax to The Town of The Blue Mountains, PO Box 310, 32 Mill Street, Thornbury, Ontario, N0H 2P0, or fax to 519-599-2474. If this form is not received or the tenant information is incorrect, any and all utility bills for the subject property will be sent to the property owner.
Please note that the Town is not responsible for contacting the owner for tenants’ arrears.