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THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF MIDLAND
BY-LAW 2026-28
A By-law to establish rates for water and sewer services related to the
operation of the systems and to repeal By-law 2025-14.
WHEREAS The Corporation of the Town of Midland has constructed and operates and
maintains a water supply system, a water distribution system, a sewage collection system
and a sewage treatment system;
AND WHEREAS Sections 9, 11 and Part XII of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.0. 2001 c. 25,
(the Act) and the Regulations thereto enable a municipality to impose by By-law fees or
charges on persons for the supply of water and the use of a sewage system;
AND WHEREAS Ontario Regulation 581/06 provides that fees or charges imposed for
the supply of water and the use of a sewage system under the Act and added to the tax
roll under Subsection 398(2) of the Act have priority lien status as described in Section 1
of the Act;
AND WHEREAS the Municipal Council of The Corporation of the Town of Midland deems
it expedient to establish water and sewer rates and charges;
AND WHEREAS the Town of Midland has given notice and held a Public Meeting on
December 9, 2025, in accordance with By-law 2009-20.
NOW THEREFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF
MIDLAND HEREBY ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:
A - Administration
A.1.
The operation, servicing and administration of the water supply system, the water
distribution system, the sewage collection system and the sewage treatment system shall be
under the jurisdiction of the Water & Wastewater Department of the Town.
A.2.
The administration of waterworks and sewer works accounting, servicing and meter
reading shall be under the jurisdiction of the Water & Wastewater Department of the
Town but may be delegated to such other entities as Council may from time to time
direct.
B - Water and Sewer Service Rates and Charges
B.1.
Water supplied to premises in the Town, as indicated by the water meter, shall be
charged for each respective property at the Consumption Charge Rate and a Base
Monthly Charge Rate both as shown in Schedule 'A' to this By-law. Sewer service
charges for all premises in the Town connected to the sewage collection system
shall be based on the quantity of water supplied, as indicated by the water meter for
each respective property and charged at the Sewer Discharge Rate and a Base
Monthly Charge Rate as shown in Schedule 'A' to this By-law.
By-law 2026-28
Page 2
B.2.
Users of the sewer system who do not purchase all water from the Corporation of
the Town of Midland, but who discharge sewage into the sewage system shall, at
their cost, install private devices or meters to measure and record in gallons or
litres, sewage entering the sewer works of the Corporation. The design,
components, installation and operation of such devices or meters shall be subject to
the approval of the Manager, Water & Wastewater. Should commercial or industrial
users not install such devices, the Town shall apply the sewage service rate to the
volume of water indicated on the Water Use Permit as issued by the Ontario
Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, or where such properties are
exempt from a Water Use Permit, the volume of water shall be calculated based on
the area indicated in the property assessment records for the property serviced, as
follows:
Industrial Zoned Property:
35,000 litres/ha/day
Commercial Zoned Property:
45,000 litres/ha/day
B.3.
Water meters may be read and accounts rendered monthly, quarterly or on any
other basis determined appropriate by the Town. The Town may serve bills upon
the customer, by delivery or mail, either at an address supplied by the customer, or
bills shall be deemed to be served upon the said customer if they are delivered or
sent by mail to the premises supplied with water.
B.4.
When the owner requests a temporary removal of the water meter from their
premises , for any reason, the meter removal and reinstallation charge, as shown in
Schedule 'B' of this By-law, will be applied to their account.
B.5.
The minimum base monthly charge for providing and maintaining water supply to
any serviced premise is payable in accordance with Schedule 'A'.
B.6.
No person shall operate a curb stop. Only Town of Midland certified waterworks
operator personnel shall operate a curb stop. A fee shall be paid by every person
requesting a water service shut off and turn on, as set out in Schedule 'B' of this By-
law.
C - Accepted Payment Options
C.1.
Payments are payable to "The Corporation of the Town of Midland", 575 Dominion
Avenue, Midland, ON, L4R 1R2 and must be received at the Municipal Town Office
on or before the due date indicated on the utility invoice to avoid penalty and
interest.
C.2.
The following payment methods are accepted for water and wastewater charges:
(i) Payments may be received in person during regular business hours at the
Municipal Town Office (575 Dominion Avenue, Midland) by cash, cheque,
debit card and credit card* (*2.4% convenience fee applies to credit card
By-law 2026-28
Page 3
payments, as shown in Schedule B of this By-law).
(ii)
Cheques may be dropped into the after-hours mailbox located outside the
west entrance of the Municipal Town Office;
(iii)
Cheques may be mailed; however, the cheques must be received at the
Municipal Town Office on or before the due date indicated on the utility
invoice to avoid penalty and interest;
(iv)
Payments may be made by telephone or internet banking. Taxpayers
wishing to pay in this manner need to be aware that currently the typical
processing time for Canadian financial institutions to transfer a payment to
the Town's account can be at least three (3) business days. This means that
payment made in this manner should incorporate sufficient lead time in
advance of the due date to avoid penalties and interest.
(v)
Payments may be made in person at most Canadian financial institutions. As
noted in (iv) above, the typical processing time for Canadian financial
institutions to transfer a payment to the Town's account is at least three (3)
business days. This means that sufficient payment processing time should
be considered when making payments at financial institutions to ensure the
payments are received in advance of the due date.
C.3.
The Town offers a Pre-Authorized Payment (PAP) Plans. PAP Plans are only
available to those account holders who are not in arrears. A completed Pre-
Authorized Payment (PAP) Agreement must be submitted, including a void cheque
(or authorized banking information provided by account holder's bank) to the Town
for approval to begin the enrollment process.
C.4.
US cash will not be accepted. Payment tendered by cheque or bank draft in US
funds will be accepted based on the exchange rate established by the Town's bank
on the day of the deposit less a 5% charge for administration
C.5.
Payments that are returned by the bank marked with a reason such as
"insufficientfunds or non- sufficient funds", "Frozen account", "account closed",
"payer deceased" or etc., will be subject to an NSF fee as set out in the Town of
Midland's By-law that establishes the comprehensive Town rates and fees
schedule.
C.6.
An account holder enrolled in a PAP Plan who has had a payment dishonored by
the bank will be automatically removed from the PAP Plan, and service fees for the
dishonored payment will be applied to the account holder's account. An account
holder may re-enroll in the PAP Plan by submitting a new PAP Agreement once the
account is paid in full. If the account has two or more payments dishonored by the
bank within six (6) months, the account holder may re-enrol by submitting a new
PAP Agreement after keeping their utility account current for twelve (12) months.
D - Collection Methods
D.1.
When an account is not paid by the due date on the bill, a late payment charge,
By-law 2026-28
Page 4
shown in Schedule 'B' of this By-law, will be assessed to the account and an
overdue notice will be sent by mail reminding the customer of the outstanding
account.
D.2.
Fourteen (14) days after the overdue notice is mailed and, should the account
remain unpaid, the Manager, Water & Wastewater or the Town's Director of
Finance may deliver, or cause to be delivered, a Notice of Transfer to Taxes to the
premises supplied or the address supplied by the customer, advising the customer
that unless payment is received within 48 hours, that all unpaid amounts will be
added to taxes and collected in like manner as taxes, as provided for under the
Municipal Act.
D.3.
If a customer omits, neglects or refuses to pay any bill rendered, whether for water
or sewer service, materials, service charges or any other monies to which the Town
may be entitled in respect of the water and wastewater services to such premises,
the Town may, at its discretion, shut off or reduce the flow of water to the premises
and in addition to the amount owing and unpaid, a disconnection charge as shown
in Schedule 'B' of this By-law will be levied against the delinquent account. Such
charges and amounts owing are a lien and charge upon the property and may be
collected in like manner as taxes. Every owner of property, even though the owner
is not the occupant of the property at the time a water or wastewater rate charge
becomes payable in respect of the property under this By-law, is also liable to pay
the rate until it is paid.
D.4.
Where it has been necessary to take administrative action as a result of non-
payment, a Water Administrative Fee charge as shown in Schedule 'B' of this By-
law will be levied against the delinquent account.
E - Fire Hydrants & Fire Protection Systems
E.1.
Water supplied from fire hydrants shall be used for firefighting only. No other use of
a Town's fire hydrant for water supply will be permitted.
E.2.
Any water supplied or made available for any land or building for purposes of
protection of property or persons from fire or for preventing fires or the spreading of
fires shall not be used for any other purpose.
E.3.
Property owners who own a private fire hydrant that does not have backflow
prevention devices installed to the Town's Engineering Standards will be required to
pay annually the Private Hydrant Annual Maintenance fee as listed in Schedule B.
F - Water Meters
F.1.
All water used on premises within the Town of Midland, except water used for
firefighting purposes, shall pass through a meter approved by the Town for use
By-law 2026-28
Page 5
upon such premises, and in addition to whatever other remedies the Town may
have by law in respect to infringement of this By-law, the Town may, upon
ascertaining that water has been used which has not passed through the meter of
such premises, forthwith, without notice, shut off and stop the supply of water. The
water used will be billed at an estimated volume plus a $500 administrative penalty
fee.
F.2.
The owner shall pay the base and monthly water service charge and wastewater
service charge shown in Schedule 'A' of this By-law, or such other flat rate charges
as set out in Schedule 'B' in instances where the Town has determined that a water
meter cannot be installed, and such surcharges as are set out in Schedule 'B' for
customers who refuse to allow the Town to install a water meter or who refuse
access to the water meter.
F.3.
Before taking Administrative Action for unpaid accounts, the Town shall:
(i)
send a reminder notice by personal service to unpaid accounts with accounts
with at least a $50.00 balance within 14 days of the due date giving 14 days
to pay in full;
(ii)
send Overdue Account notice by personal service to unpaid accounts with at
least a $50.00 balance and no arrangements made for payment, within 28
days of the account due date to pay in full or disconnection will occur without
further notice;
(iii)
deliver personal on-site notice if the current address of the owner is not
known, such notice to be posted on the land in a conspicuous place.
F.4.
Before restricting the supply of water for any other reason that the Town deems
necessary, the Town shall:
(i)
by personal service or by registered mail, serve the owners and occupants of
the property as shown on the last returned assessment roll of the
municipality with a notice of the date upon which the Town intends to shut off
or restrict the supply of water, if access to the property is not obtained before
the date; cost of the registered mail will be added to the account per
Schedule B of this By-law;
(ii) ensure that a copy of the notice described in clause (i) is securely attached to
the property in a conspicuous place.
F.5.
Where the customer continually refuses to allow the Town to install or read a water
meter, after four (4) notices, the Town may choose to install a metering pit at
property line, said installation to be charged to the customer as set out in Schedule
'B' of this By- law.
F.6.
The Town shall not shut off or restrict the supply of water unless it has made
reasonable efforts to get access to the property and has been unable to get access
within fourteen (14) days after issuance of a Notice of Disconnect.
By-law 2026-28
Page 6
F.7.
If the Town has shut off or restricted the supply of water , the Town shall restore the
supply of water as soon as practicable after obtaining access to the property.
F.8.
Where the municipality has established that a water meter has failed to register
accurately, the municipality shall estimate the quantity of water consumed. The
recorded consumption prior to such failure will be the basis of estimating quantities
consumed during the failure.
F.9.
A customer may, upon written application to the Town, have the water meter at his
or her premises tested for accuracy of registration. Every such application shall be
accompanied by a deposit of the fee for testing water meters set out in Schedule 'B'
of this By-law. All water meters shall be tested in accordance with American Water
Works Association Standards and Procedures. If when tested, the meter is found to
operate outside of applicable specifications, the Manager, Water & Wastewater will
estimate or cause to be estimated, the applicable flow volume underage or excess
and a refund or charge will be made to the customer as applicable . The time frame
used for the calculation of the estimate shall be limited to the four (4) month period
prior to testing. If the testing determines that the meter reads in excess of the actual
flow volume, the customer's deposit for the test shall be refunded.
F.10. Where the water meter is equipped with a remote read-out unit of any type and a
discrepancy occurs between the reading at the register of the water meter itself and
the reading on the read-out device, the Town will consider the reading at the meter
to be correct and will adjust and correct the customer's account accordingly.
F.11. Where a discrepancy is acknowledged between the reading at the register of the
water meter itself and the reading on the read-out device, as noted in Section F.10,
or any other acknowledged discrepancy, the Town will adjust the customer's
account to a maximum of 3 years from the date of discovery.
F.12. Where a new water meter is to be installed on an existing service for the purposes
of new building construction, the Town will undertake an inspection of the existing
private service pipe to ensure it is in compliance with the Town's standards. A
service inspection fee shall be charged at the rate set out in Schedule 'B' of this By-
law. If the pipe is found to be non-compliant, the customer will be required to
upgrade the private service pipe at their expense. Refusal to upgrade the private
service pipe could result in the Town refusing to install a new water meter.
F.13. A meter shall be installed and inspected by the Town of Midland before the water
shall be turned on and supplied to the property
F.14. All persons shall maintain private water services in a good state of repair and free
from any leaks.
F.15. The Town of Midland shall be permitted access, within twenty-four (24) hours of
providing notice, to any premises that are connected to the municipal water system
By-law 2026-28
Page 7
for the purpose of performing inspections to verify compliance with this By-law
G - Enforcement
G.1.
Any person who contravenes any provision of this By-law is, upon conviction, guilty
of an offence and is liable to any penalty as provided in the Provincial Offences Act.
H - Repeal of Existing By-law
H.1.
Town of Midland By-law 2025-14 is hereby repealed.
I - Effective Date
1.1 .
This By-law shall come into force and effect on the final passage thereof.
1.2.
When more than one rate applies to one billing period, all consumption and basic
monthly charges will be prorated, or considered as evenly spread over the number
of days in the reading period, such that the appropriate applicable rates will be
applied to the appropriate number of days in each portion of the billing period.
1.3 . The miscellaneous rates and charges set out in Schedule 'B' shall come into force
and effect on June 1st, 2026 and be charged for all miscellaneous charges
incurred on or after that date.
BY-LAW PASSED AND ENACTED THIS 20TH DAY OF MAY 2026.
THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF MIDLAND
_____
BILL GORDON - MAYOR
______
SHERRI EDGAR - CLERK
Written approval of this By-law was given by Mayoral Decision MDE-2026-9 dated May
20, 2026.
By-law 2026-28
Page 8
Schedule "A" Monthly Base Charges (based on size of water meter)
Base Monthly Charge
Base Monthly Charge
Meter Size
WATER ($)
SEWER ($)
3/4"
14.96
17.05
1"
31.10
35.39
1 ½"
68.35
77.82
2"
124.35
141.63
3"
264.21
300.87
4"
466.23
530.95
6"
621.67
707.95
8"
699.34
796.38
10"
777.06
884.92
1.1(b) VOLUME CHARGE
Water Consumption
Sewage Discharge
Rate per cubic
metre ($)
Rate per cubic
metre ($)
Standard Rate
$2.01
$2.27
By-law 2026-28
Page 9
Schedule "B" to Miscellaneous Fees
1
Late payment Charges
Charged at the same rate as
Composite Fees By-Law
2
N.S.F Cheques
Charged at the same rate as
Composite Fees By-law
3
Credit Card Convenience Fee
Charged at the same rate as
Composite Fees By-law
4
Account adjustments/payment error/refund
requests -
i.e. paid to wrong account, wrong municipality
Charged at the same rate as
Composite Fees By-law
5
Duplicate Utility Receipts / Bills
Charged at the same rate as
Composite Fees By-law
6
Registered mail
Actual costs
7
Hand Delivery Charge
Charged at the same rate as
Composite Fees By-law
8
Hourly Charge out Rates
Director of Environmental Services
Environmental Supervisor
Environmental Operator
Environmental Electrical Instrumentation Tech
Environmental Services Coordinator
$165.00/hour
$110.00/hour
$ 90.00/hour
$105.00/hour
$95.00/hour
9
Water Administration Fee
$79
Duplicate Billing Request
Charged at the same rate as
Composite Fees By-law
Minimum 1-hour call
$116/hour
Calls after hours minimum 3 hours
$173/hour
10
To turn the water supply on or off to a private water
service, at the curb box, other than a new service.
Rates apply if service is completed within 3 hours:
Per call during regular hours
$84 each
Per call during non-regular hours
$284 each
11
Water Meter accuracy check at customers' request:
Up to 1" (25mm)
$105
Over 1" (25mm)
Time and Materials
Billing History Report
$16
Data log Consumption Report
$32
12
Water Meter
Supply Water Meter and essential components
Time and Materials
Install Water Meter
Time and Materials
Repair Damaged Water Meter
Time and Materials
Removal of Water Meter
Time and Materials
Inspection Fee or New Meters (applicable to new
meters
requiring a building permit)
$53
Service Charge for Inspection call back or
missed appointment
$63 each callback
By-law 2026-28
Page 10
13
Temporary connection for building construction
Includes:
Refundable Deposit
$1000
Water Cost
At Current Rates
Weekly Meter Rental Rate
$53
14
Installation of new services on town property (Full
Securities are to be provided by the
homeowner/builder based on construction estimate
prior to the work
commencing)
Time and Materials (or actual cost if
work completed by a private
contractor)
15
Tapping Fee for new services
$263 each
16
Bulk Water
$35 plus current consumption fee
on
all water supplied
17
Water Service Pipe Inspection Fee (applicable to
new meters on existing service for new building
construction)
$53
18
Private Hydrant Annual Maintenance
$184/hydrant
19
Sanitary Wastewater Lateral Video Inspection
during regular hours
$263 per visit
20
Annual Sewer Surcharge Rates:
Laboratory Costs after noted first exceedance
Actual Costs
BOD5
$1.17/kg
Suspended Solids
$1.08/kg
TKN
$1.34/km
Total Phosphorus
$3.61/kg
21
Sanitary Wastewater Lateral Repair/Replacement
on Town Property
$1050
22
Flat Rate Charge for non-metered or estimated
read accounts:
a) For single family residential unit, where the
Town has determined a meter cannot be
installed, a flat-water rate based on current
rates applied against an average level of
household consumption
b) Where the customer refuses to allow the
Town to install or read a water meter, the
charge specified in 16(a) plus a surcharge
of $50 per month
c) Where the customer refuses to allow the
Town to install or read a water meter, after
four (4) notices, the Town may choose to
install a metering pit at property line to be
charged to the customer at time and
materials charge or suspend service
23
Hauled Septage and Holding Tank Waste
disposal shall be charged as follows:
a) Sewer Service Rate for Hauled Septage
$.27/gallon minimum charge 1000
gallons per load
By-law 2026-28
Page 11
b) Sewer Service Rate for Hauled Portable
Toilet
Waste or Hauled Marine Holding Tank Waste
$.12/gallon minimum charge per
load
1000 gallons
c) Administrative Fee for wastes a), b) and c)
originating from outside boundaries of the
Town of Midland
$35 per address
24
Administrative penalty for bypassing water
meter
$500