Hamilton City Council approved a water rate increase of 7.32 per cent (an increase of $77.65 to the average bill) for 2026 at their Dec. 10 meeting.
The city’s water rate was expected to increase by 5.82 per cent (an increase of $61.82 to the average bill) in 2026, but that was because the municipality was also going to begin collecting the stormwater fee ($201 annually for single-family detached homes) beginning in July.
At the same Council meeting, Councillors voted to delay the stormwater fee, also called a rain tax, until Jan. 1, 2027.
As a result, staff said that the water rate would have to increase to make up for lost revenue.
It should be noted that the initial forecast for the 2026 water budget was that it would increase by 10 per cent.
Thus, the 7.32 per cent increase is still down from that initial forecast.
Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath called Council’s decision to delay the rain tax and move forward with a 7.32 per cent water rate “disappointing.”
Horwath was the only one absent for the vote, which passed 10-5.
The mayor said in a press release, “I disagree with the decision taken by the majority of council to increase the 2026 water rate from 5.82 per cent to 7.32 per cent, and am disappointed by the absence of a fairer, more progressive and whole-of-Hamilton approach to funding our critical water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.”
If the stormwater fee and water rate were implemented as Horwath desired, the average homeowner would have had to pay $162.20 more in 2026 (5.82 per cent water rate plus half of the $201 stormwater fee since it was not going to be implemented until July).
Instead, the average homeowner will only be paying $77.65 more in 2026, representing savings of $84.55 compared to Horwath’s plan.
However, staff have warned that water rates will go up further in subsequent years if a stormwater fee rain tax is not implemented.
The city says that the 2026 water rate budget advances “major multi-year infrastructure projects critical to Hamilton’s future, including the Woodward Water Treatment Plant, Woodward Wastewater Treatment Plant, Dundas Water Treatment Plant, significant renewal of water and wastewater networks across the city, and ongoing upgrades that enhance climate resilience and support new housing supply.”
The adopted budget also includes updated fixed and consumption charges for 2026.
The 2026 water rate budget will also support $252 million in infrastructure investments over the upcoming year and outlines $4.59 billion in investments over the next decade for “critical infrastructure renewal and system upgrades.”
The city adds that the 2026 water rate “balances affordability for current ratepayers” through the use of reserves and debt financing.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
