Water and wastewater rates
Water does not appear on your property tax bill, so it stays out of the tax argument even though it rises every year. A residential water bill's volumetric rate has risen from about $0.79 per cubic metre in 2012 to $1.33 in 2026, and the wastewater rate more than doubled over the same span, from about $0.98 to $2.03 per cubic metre.
Water, per m³ Wastewater, per m³
How much have Barrie water and wastewater rates gone up?
Residential rates, first consumption block, as printed in the City's own rate tables and brochures. Fixed charges are per bi-monthly billing period; volumetric rates are per cubic metre.
| Year | Effective | Water fixed | Water per m³ | Wastewater fixed | Wastewater per m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Mar 1, 2012 | $22.94 | 0.7888 | $25.84 | 0.9790 |
| 2013derived | not stated | $24.03 | 0.8450 | $27.86 | 1.0826 |
| 2014 | Mar 1, 2014 | $23.67 | 0.8982 | $30.52 | 1.2472 |
| 2015 | May 1, 2015 | $23.94 | 0.9418 | $31.48 | 1.3169 |
| 2016 | Apr 1, 2016 | $24.38 | 0.9616 | $32.82 | 1.3827 |
| 2017 | May 1, 2017 | $24.92 | 0.9827 | $33.72 | 1.4201 |
| 2018derived | not stated | $25.66 | 1.0124 | $34.78 | 1.4651 |
| 2019 | May 1, 2019 | $26.60 | 1.0495 | $36.00 | 1.5165 |
| 2020 | Mar 1, 2020 | $27.44 | 1.0830 | $37.92 | 1.5974 |
| 2021 | May 1, 2021 | $28.03 | 1.1062 | $37.92 | 1.5974 |
| 2022 | May 1, 2022 | $28.88 | 1.1394 | $39.81 | 1.6773 |
| 2023 | Apr 1, 2023 | $30.04 | 1.1850 | $41.80 | 1.7611 |
| 2024 | May 1, 2024 | $31.22 | 1.2320 | $43.87 | 1.8479 |
| 2025 | May 1, 2025 | $32.46 | 1.2807 | $46.02 | 1.9387 |
| 2026 | May 1, 2026 | $33.75 | 1.3315 | $48.30 | 2.0349 |
Sources: the City's water and wastewater rate pages as captured by the Internet Archive for 2012 through 2022, and the City's annual rates brochure for 2023 onward. Rows marked derived are read from the following year's "previous rates" column, because no capture of the rates page exists in those years; their rates are as printed, but their effective dates are not recorded anywhere and are shown as not stated rather than guessed. Full per-row capture addresses are held with the site's research notes.
Source: 2026 Water & Wastewater Rates (effective May 1, 2026), City of Barrie, dated May 1, 2026. Original document. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
Why is a straight year-to-year comparison misleading?
- 2024: the fixed charge split by meter size. Through 2023 a residential account had one fixed charge. From 2024 the table names a 16–19 mm charge and adds a separate, much larger 25 mm charge; 2025 adds 38 mm. Accounts on bigger meters saw a step change that was not a rate increase.
- 2021: wastewater was frozen. That year's increase raised water only; every wastewater figure held at its 2020 level. A flat year in the data, not a gap in it.
- 2014: the water fixed charge fell while the volumetric rate rose. That is what the document says, and it is not a transcription error.
- Effective dates move between March, April and May depending on the year, so consecutive years do not cover equal exposure. One year's page even dates its two tables differently.
What happened to Barrie's stormwater charge, the "rain tax"?
Anyone who remembers the announcement may look for a stormwater line and not find one. Council approved a stormwater user fee in February 2022 that, in the City's words, "would have shown stormwater as a separate charge on water bills starting in spring 2023". During 2023 budget amendments Council cancelled it and funded stormwater renewal from property taxes instead, through an extra 1% on the dedicated infrastructure levy. So stormwater is paid on the tax bill, not the water bill. See the infrastructure gap, where that same 1% appears from the other direction.
What do water rates pay for?
Water and wastewater are supposed to be self-funding: the rates cover the systems' operating and renewal costs rather than drawing on property taxes. The current statutory plan behind them is the Ontario Regulation 453/07 financial plan of April 2021, which forecasts 2021 through 2030 and is still the newest one published.
Source: Water and Wastewater Ontario Regulation 453/07 Financial Plan — Financial Plan #014-301, City of Barrie (Watson & Associates Economists Ltd.), dated April 29, 2021. Original document. The statutory financial plan behind the rates, forecasting 2021 to 2030. Still the current plan: no newer O. Reg. 453/07 plan has been published. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
The City posts each year's brochure at the same address, replacing the last, and the 2026 edition has no Internet Archive capture. This page uses a copy taken August 11, 2026. From spring 2027 (the new brochure can appear as early as March) the link will show different figures.
What the candidates have said
Verbatim, attributed, dated. Every passage below is copied exactly from an archived copy of its source — a campaign website, a news article, or the candidate's own social media post — and links to it. Nothing is paraphrased by this site and no for-or-against label is applied: read the words, follow the link. Passages from news coverage say whether they are the candidate quoted, the reporter's reported speech, or the reporter's characterisation.
Compiled in a research batch dated September 11, 2026, reviewed by hand before publication on October 8, 2026. Passages are capped at 60 words and listed newest first. Campaign pages are undated, so only the retrieval date is shown for them, and they sort by it. A candidate with nothing located on an issue is listed as such, with the date their sources were checked; a race is shown only once every candidate in it has been checked. See methodology.
Mayor
No published statement on this issue located for 4 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Alex Nuttall, Tanya Saari. No campaign website on the City's list: Kay Sayer, Russell Tighe. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 1
No published statement on this issue located for 6 candidates. Campaign website did not answer when checked (October 7, 2026): Stefano Agostino. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Shaughna Ainsworth, Brent Bowser, Hafiz Rahman, Pauline Stevenson. No campaign website on the City's list: Christian Cadera. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 2
No published statement on this issue located for 5 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Frank Casera, Shanicka Edwards, Craig Nixon, Ajmal Noushahi. No campaign website on the City's list: Tracy Strohm. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 3
No published statement on this issue located for 4 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Amy Courser, Ben Hughes, Ryan Rijo. No campaign website on the City's list: Bryan Jones. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 4
No published statement on this issue located for 5 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Iradat Ahmad, Lori Galeazza, Arif Khan. No campaign website on the City's list: Matthew Corbett, Patrick Harriott-Stewart. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 5
No published statement on this issue located for 2 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Duarte Da Silva, Robert Thomson. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 6
No published statement on this issue located for 3 candidates. No campaign website on the City's list: Nasar George Nader. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Nigussie Nigussie, Christel Pena. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 7
No published statement on this issue located for 2 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Gary Harvey. No campaign website on the City's list: Michael Lewis. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 8
No published statement on this issue located for 3 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Samina Alim, Jim Harris, Amanda Fellows. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 9
No published statement on this issue located for 4 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Norm Costello, Sergio Morales, Asmar Naveed, Dave Weingarten. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 10
No published statement on this issue located for 3 candidates. No campaign website on the City's list: William Cadeau. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Bryn Hamilton, Georgy Kapustin. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
School board trustees
None of the 19 trustee candidates across 7 races has a located statement on this issue; trustees do not decide it. Their statements are on the education page, and each candidate's own page says what was checked.
Common questions
How much are Barrie water rates?
For 2026 the residential volumetric rates are $1.33 per cubic metre for water and $2.03 for wastewater (first consumption block), up from about $0.79 and $0.98 in 2012. Fixed charges apply per bi-monthly billing period on top; the full 2012–2026 record is in the table on this page.
Are water rates part of Barrie property taxes?
No. Water and wastewater are billed separately from property tax and rise on their own schedule; the rates are supposed to be self-funding, covering the systems' operating and renewal costs rather than drawing on property taxes.
Is there a stormwater charge on Barrie water bills?
No. Council approved a stormwater user fee in February 2022 that would have appeared on water bills from spring 2023, then cancelled it during 2023 budget amendments and funded stormwater renewal from property taxes instead, through an extra 1% on the dedicated infrastructure levy — see the infrastructure gap.