The move represents an increase of $96 over the 2024 average of $965. Photo Credit: City of Hamilton
Hamilton City Council confirmed the 2025 water rate budget last week and Hamilton households will see a 9.95 per cent increase compared to 2024.
For 2025, a typical Hamilton household consuming 200 cubic metres of water annually will pay approximately $1,060 for water, wastewater, and storm services.
That number represents an increase of $96 over the 2024 average of $965.
The city says that the rate increase will help to pay for “critical investments” as well as “resilient infrastructure, environmental sustainability, and the reliable delivery of essential water services.”
A press release states that key initiatives over the next year include upgrading aging infrastructure, enhancing climate resilience, and supporting efficiency and growth.
The city is paying for a number of projects to modernize water and wastewater treatment systems including major upgrades to the Woodward and Dundas wastewater treatment plants which they say will “improve service reliability” and “support growth and development” in Hamilton.
There has been a $112 million budget increase to the Dundas Water Treatment Plant Upgrades.
There is also a $340 million expansion to the Woodward Wastewater Treatment Plant, $543 million project to upgrade the Woodward Drinking Water Treatment Plant and work associated with the Flooding and Drainage Improvement Framework.
From 2023 to 2024, the city’s water rate also increased about 10 per cent.
Residents saw a 10.04 per cent increase in the 2024 budget that raised bills by about $90.
The city says that residents can expect annual rate increases of about 10 per cent each year until 2033 before returning to inflationary figures in 2034.
A graph made by city staff indicates that the water rate will more than double from 2026 to 2033, increasing at least an additional $1,150.
The costs are attributed to the fact that the city has the second-oldest drinking water system and third-oldest wastewater system in Canada, with some infrastructure dating back to the mid-1800s.
The City of Hamilton owns and manages $14.6 billion in water, stormwater, and wastewater assets, including 5,266 kilometres of water and sewer pipes and more than 250 facilities.
Over 125 kilometres of water and sewer pipes are scheduled for major repairs or replacement over the next five years.
Additionally, over 20 per cent of the city’s water and sewer mains are more than 80 years old.
City staff write that the 2025 Rate Budget has been developed using a “needs-based approach” and that the city is seeking to eliminate their large infrastructure deficit by the end of their 10-year forecast.
They assure the public that “staff continues to thoroughly review the budget to ensure that redundancies and efficiencies have been identified and addressed and that program lines are assessed for ongoing public benefit.”
Back in 2023, the Hamilton staff said that the municipality’s water, wastewater, and stormwater rates were second lowest in the entire Golden Horseshoe at $877 for a typical household.
At the time, Kitchener was the highest at $1,628 for a typical household, followed by Norfolk at $1,627 and West Lincoln at $1,316.
Only Peel Region had lower rates at $744 for a typical household.
It is unclear where the City of Hamilton is currently ranked in the midst of high-water rate increases in both 2024 and 2025.
The City of Hamilton is also implementing a new Stormwater Fee, also called a rain tax, starting in April 2026 which will cost residents even more money.
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.
