FAQs

The City is currently pursuing an unprecedented infrastructure renewal effort to replace 26 km of water and sewer pipes – a project that is being supported by a $65 Million contribution from the Province, and is still awaiting news on a Federal grant for $82 Million. 

This work  will be extensive, and will not only replace water and sewer lines, but also the roadways above. A major contributor to the poor condition of our roads is leaking pipes beneath them, which erodes subsurface and paving above. Targeting these most critical areas will leave us with fully new roadways in significant portions of the community, and will allow us to redirect capital roads spending to replacements in other areas, rather than paving over emergency repairs which has been the priority historically.

Unfortunately, in the meantime, if any replacements are conducted in failing areas, we would lose all eligibility for Federal funding.  Practically speaking, this means that we cannot start the work in full, or spend any of the Provincially committed $65 Million. This would transfer the full burden of these major costs to taxpayers. Although staff and Council have been expending significant effort to get additional revenues through a Resource Benefits Agreement, resolution to port tax caps and payments in lieu of taxes, and continued development of Watson Island, potential revenues from these sources have not been resolved.

The City has also obtained approval for borrowing of $45 Million, with the Federal request of $82 Million being the last step in achieving as much funding as possible towards replacing municipal water and sewer mains that are at highest risk and likelihood of failure. Thanks to the recent Provincial announcement regarding their roundabout project at 2^nd Avenue and McBride Street, which includes replacement of underground infrastructure in that area, the City is also able to leverage those funds towards maximizing a potential Federal contribution. If the City is successful in getting full funding, this will be a major undertaking that will get us ahead of the near-constant failures our water system currently experiences.

This will be necessary not only to secure the distribution system, but also in order for our staff to appropriately address other community priorities. Currently, water service and main breaks in the community, is also exhausting staff capacity and budget, and so there may be delays to service on non-safety related requests.

We encourage the community to let us know your priorities by using our budget simulation tool (available through this Rupert Talks page by scrolling down and submitting input - to be available after November 6th) and to attend our two formal feedback sessions on November 9th at 7 pm in the Atrium of the College, and November 14th at 7 pm in Council Chambers. You can also email your feedback to finance@princerupert.ca.

One of our main strategic goals for the past few years and continuing with our latest strategic plan has been to advocate for sustained revenues from other sources – this includes through the Resource Benefits Alliance, addressing the tax caps/Port Payment in Lieu of Taxes certainty, as well as continuing to market and redevelop Watson Island to offset capital expenses. All of these are continued priorities that we are working to gain traction on, and will continue to pursue with other levels of government. 

 The City does not have the legislative ability to collect taxes on gas sold within our municipal boundary. The City of Vancouver is the only community in BC with this authority, because unlike all other municipalities that are governed by legislation called the “Community Charter”, Vancouver has its own “Vancouver Charter” that gives them some special privileges – including the ability to levy this special form of taxation. Unfortunately, it’s not within our authority to implement that kind of tax without a legislative change to the Community Charter, and that would need to come from the Province.

In order to receive Federal funding, the City must also commit to funding a portion of the infrastructure replacement work.  In 2023, the City approved borrowing of $45 Million  in order to complete the design and sewer works necessary for this major undertaking of water/sewer infrastructure replacement. If the City does not receive Federal funding, it still intends to borrow to complete sewer replacement alongside the Provincially funded water line replacement (for which we received $65 million) given the sewer lines are as old as the water lines.