The changes are a minor revision to Medicine Hat's sewer bylaw. Alexander Hahl/Dreamstime.com

By Eli J. Ridder

Medicine Hat city council makes minor sewer bylaw revision

Jun 17, 2024 | 7:00 PM

Medicine Hat city council on Monday approved a minor amendment to correct what staff called a clerical error with its sewer bylaw.

An earlier amendment — known as Bylaw No. 4715 — to Sewer Bylaw No. 1541 inadvertently removed the language concerning multi-unit dwellings in 2022, causing confusion about monthly rate administration.

Historically, the bylaw included a sewerage charge per dwelling unit per month for residential properties with multiple units, staff wrote in a report to council.

However, the amended bylaw effective Jan. 1, 2023, only mentioned charges based on water meter size at a daily rate, omitting the per-unit charge.

Despite this omission, multi-unit dwellings continued to be billed per unit, affecting about 6,000 units.

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Monday’s revision to Bylaw No. 4715 aims to clarify this oversight and confirm the ongoing billing practice.

The updated bylaw aligns the text with historical billing practices without materially changing the intended charges, staff said.

Council voted unanimously to support the new amendment.