Water and Wastewater Rate Structure

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Help shape the future of water and wastewater rates in Aurora!

We’re considering changes to how water and wastewater services are billed. Your input will help ensure the new structure is fair, sustainable, and meets the needs of our community.

How can you participate?

  • Take our quick survey
  • Share a comment or ask a question


About the current rates: What you need to know

In 2025, the Town of Aurora will spend $32 million to provide water and wastewater services. This money covers two types of costs:

1. Fixed Costs (about 13% of the budget)

Help shape the future of water and wastewater rates in Aurora!

We’re considering changes to how water and wastewater services are billed. Your input will help ensure the new structure is fair, sustainable, and meets the needs of our community.

How can you participate?

  • Take our quick survey
  • Share a comment or ask a question


About the current rates: What you need to know

In 2025, the Town of Aurora will spend $32 million to provide water and wastewater services. This money covers two types of costs:

1. Fixed Costs (about 13% of the budget)

  • These don’t change based on how much water people use.
  • Examples: repairing or replacing pipes and infrastructure.
  • These costs happen no matter what.

2. Variable Costs

  • These go up or down depending on how much water is used.
  • Example: The more water residents use, the more the Town has to pay York Region for water and wastewater services.

How You’re Charged

By law, the Town must recover all these costs through water bills.

Right now, Aurora uses a 100% variable rate system, which means:

  • You only pay for the water you use.
  • Homes that use little or no water (like vacant homes) still benefit from the system but pay very little.
  • People who use more water end up covering most of the fixed costs, even though those costs don’t depend on usage.

What we are considering:

As the Town’s water and wastewater infrastructure gets older, the costs to rehabilitate and replace this infrastructure have increased significantly resulting in higher fixed costs that must be covered through the rate structure. Variable operating costs have also grown significantly.

We’re exploring new options to:
Ensure fairness: Everyone contributes toward fixed costs which are unavoidable.
Promote conservation: Encourage responsible water use.
Improve revenue stability: Ensure fixed costs which are critical in ensuring water and wastewater infrastructure reliability are funded.

QUESTIONS

Do you have a question about the considered changes or about your current rate structure?

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  • Share Why is the Water Metered SEWER the same as water METERED usage? Many people, have gardens, pools, hot tubs where the water NEVER ends up in the sewer. on Facebook Share Why is the Water Metered SEWER the same as water METERED usage? Many people, have gardens, pools, hot tubs where the water NEVER ends up in the sewer. on Twitter Share Why is the Water Metered SEWER the same as water METERED usage? Many people, have gardens, pools, hot tubs where the water NEVER ends up in the sewer. on Linkedin Email Why is the Water Metered SEWER the same as water METERED usage? Many people, have gardens, pools, hot tubs where the water NEVER ends up in the sewer. link

    Why is the Water Metered SEWER the same as water METERED usage? Many people, have gardens, pools, hot tubs where the water NEVER ends up in the sewer.

    G. Matthew Penstone asked 11 days ago

    Hi Matthew,  Thank you for reaching out.

    Unfortunately, it’s not practical to measure or estimate how much of a household’s water use goes toward activities like watering lawns, washing cars, or filling pools. Because of this, the Town is unable to separate these uses from wastewater charges.

    That said, the pricing structure for water does reflect the reality that not all metered water ends up in the wastewater system.

    Under provincial legislation, the Town is required to recover the full costs of operating and maintaining its water and wastewater systems—including necessary upgrades and infrastructure renewal. The Region of York charges the Town for both water and wastewater services in the same manner.

    Offering seasonal discounts based on estimated summer usage would require increasing rates during winter months to balance revenue, which would be unfair to households that don’t engage in outdoor water use.

  • Share Does York Region offer volume discounts on Aurora water purchases? Do they invoice Aurora using a flat rate or a tier pricing rate system like you are proposing? What is the Town's new motivation to conserve water and how will adding 8,000 new homes, in 5 years, help to conserve water? Thanks Shawn on Facebook Share Does York Region offer volume discounts on Aurora water purchases? Do they invoice Aurora using a flat rate or a tier pricing rate system like you are proposing? What is the Town's new motivation to conserve water and how will adding 8,000 new homes, in 5 years, help to conserve water? Thanks Shawn on Twitter Share Does York Region offer volume discounts on Aurora water purchases? Do they invoice Aurora using a flat rate or a tier pricing rate system like you are proposing? What is the Town's new motivation to conserve water and how will adding 8,000 new homes, in 5 years, help to conserve water? Thanks Shawn on Linkedin Email Does York Region offer volume discounts on Aurora water purchases? Do they invoice Aurora using a flat rate or a tier pricing rate system like you are proposing? What is the Town's new motivation to conserve water and how will adding 8,000 new homes, in 5 years, help to conserve water? Thanks Shawn link

    Does York Region offer volume discounts on Aurora water purchases? Do they invoice Aurora using a flat rate or a tier pricing rate system like you are proposing? What is the Town's new motivation to conserve water and how will adding 8,000 new homes, in 5 years, help to conserve water? Thanks Shawn

    Shawn asked about 2 months ago

    Hi Shawn. Thanks for your question.


    York Region charges the Town one flat per cubic meter charge for water regardless of the amount consumed.

    A proposed tiered rate will encourage users to use less water-particularly in peak times as water supply is finite. Conservation ensures all water users have access to water when they need it. Also the proposed lower tier rate ensures that residents pay less for water needed for normal day-to-day basic use.

    The amount of water York Region is able to supply to its municipalities is finite; the region’s water supply capacity is governed by many variables. All new development growth results in an increased demand for water which reduces the Region’s overall unused water supply capacity. Therefore, York Region and its municipalities pay close attention to the rate of development growth and the impact that it will have on the region’s available water capacity. In some instances, development may need to be slowed due to insufficient water capacity. Water conservation efforts result in an overall reduction to existing water demand, increasing unused water supply capacity which enables further development to proceed sooner within the Town and Region.

Page last updated: 09 Jun 2025, 04:35 PM