Abstract
Small water systems have water technology that has a higher cost structure than those of large cities. Consequently they cannot enjoy “comparable” consumption patterns. It is shown that full cost pricing is not compatible with achieving equity for small system residents and marginal cost pricing would not cover the capital costs. Therefore, provinces could seek legal recourse for higher federal transfers, based on section 36(2) of the Canadian Constitution Act, which mandates “comparable” public services irrespective of residence. It is argued that such a case is justiciable. This legal remedy would interest the global water policy community. Key words: Alberta, water pricing, small water systems, affordability, income.
Highlights
Canadian small water communities face a number of disadvantages, such as higher units costs of water production based on older conventional treatment technologies, potentially contaminated rural source waters, a lower income population and a single source of local government income, namely, property taxes
Dore (2015a) shows that the majority of recent waterborne disease outbreaks occur in small water systems, which are in rural areas
The quantity of 80,000 m3/per year corresponds to a population of about 700 people or 275 households at a breakeven price of $4.00 per cubic meter, where a breakeven price means total revenue equals total costs (Before proceeding, recall the definition of marginal costs: these are the additional variable costs of labor, materials and energy costs for producing one more cubic meter of water)
Summary
Canadian small water communities face a number of disadvantages, such as higher units costs of water production based on older conventional treatment technologies, potentially contaminated rural source waters, a lower income population and a single source of local government income, namely, property taxes. Dore (2015a) shows that the majority of recent waterborne disease outbreaks occur in small water systems, which are in rural areas. The reasons for these outbreaks are varied: they range from source of water contamination due to animal fecal material to equipment failures due to old treatment trains and inadequate maintenance. The constraints to the delivery of clean water in small systems have been adequately reviewed in the Montana Colloquium (Ford et al, 2005) on small water systems
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