Farmers in Hamilton, Ontario, must pay a new rainwater Although there was an attempt to abolish the fee last year, people claim that the tax costs hundreds of dollars every year.
The fee, which some opponents have dubbed a “stormwater tax,” will be introduced by the city in 2026 to cover the costs of managing sewage leaks and other climate change-related impacts in the region.
The premise is that the city currently underfunds water and sewer infrastructure by tens of millions of dollars each year.
Homes, businesses and farms are expected to pay fees based on the amount of “impervious surfaces” (such as paved parking lots) they have that divert stormwater into sewers.
From Report The proposal introduced Wednesday in the General Issues Committee modifies some existing policies and adopts a rebate program to incentivize farmers without stormwater drainage systems to make improvements.
AECOM consultant Nancy Hill outlined the “green space” plans following the release of the results of a public consultation process that began in June 2022.
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The commission has directed staff to review the current stormwater funding model and report on a possible new fee structure.
Hill said it was a priority to roll out the credit program before fees were charged so property owners would know ahead of time whether they would qualify for the incentive.
“The idea is that this fee will be implemented in April 2026,” Hill explained.
“That means in 2025, the final rates will be approved as part of the 2026 budget process. So probably in the fourth quarter of 2025.”
The report says Hamilton's stormwater system is valued at more than $3 billion and includes natural assets such as waterways, 1,500 kilometres of ditches and thousands of rural culverts.
A delegation of farmers attending the GIC meeting on Wednesday made a last-ditch effort to get the new fee structure for rural areas in the city scrapped.
Drew Spoelstra, president of the Ontario Farmers Association and a Binbrook farmer, said the fees are nothing more than an “unfair tax on farms” and will discourage agricultural businesses from operating in the area.
He said the fee assessment process, which essentially charges based on how much “hard surface” a property has, was not clearly spelled out and did not take into account the “environmental benefits of agricultural properties”.
“These include, but are not limited to, absorbing stormwater through infiltration, recharging aquifers, streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands, slowing peak flows, thereby reducing stream erosion and filtering pollutants,” Spoelstra said.
Some councilmen, including Brad Clark of Stoney Creek, supported the exemption because many of the pipes don’t connect to city sewers.
““They were very frustrated. They felt as if no one was listening to them. They disagreed with a lot of the advisor's views,” Clark said.
“Frankly, they disagree with the way the council has handled this.”
The staff report predicts that when the fee is implemented in 2026, the initial “base cost” for an average household with no credit will hover around $170 per year.
Future rates will be determined as part of the city’s annual budget process.
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