By mid-2026, a uniform rate for new residential connections to municipal water and sewer systems will be established in the Township of Alfred and Plantagenet.
In December 2025, council adopted a recommendation from staff to set the new rate at $7,570.98. Alfred and Plantagenet operates municipal water and sewer systems in the villages of Alfred, Plantagenet, and Wendover.
The reason for transitioning to a uniform rate is a recognition of the importance of building solid reserves to favourably position the township for replacement of infrastructure, and current and future capital needs. The uniform rate will also consolidate the connection fee bylaws for each system from three bylaws to one. Fees in bylaws adopted in 2007 and 2016 have not been updated since then. Currently, the connection rate is $2,198.72 for water and $2,660.65 for sewer in Alfred. In Plantagenet, the water connection rate is currently $4,430.52 and the sewer connection rate is $3,432.05. The current water connection rate in Wendover is $2,901.59 and the sewer connection rate is $7,386.32.
There are currently 11 sewer and water systems in the nine municipalities of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell. The new $7,570.98 uniform rate in Alfred and Plantagenet will be around the middle of the cost range. As of December 2025, the lowest residential water connection rate is $624 in Hawkesbury, and the lowest residential sewer connection rate is $1,000 in St-Isidore. The highest water connection rate is $14,534.61 in St-Isidore, and the highest sewer connection rate is $13,783 in Clarence-Rockland.
“I think it’s a reasonable price,” Councillor Antoni Viau commented about the new uniform rate.
Councillor Jean-Pierre Cadieux agreed.
The motion was adopted without any further discussion. Staff will return to council with a proposed draft bylaw including the uniform rate for new residential water and sewer system connections before June 30, 2026.
