Selkirk takes its role as community leaders and environmental stewards very seriously. Protecting natural features such as our waterway is a priority for Selkirk and essential to a healthy environment.
Healthy waterways are vital for our social and economic well being, play a key role in agriculture, industry, recreation and provide essential habitat for wildlife.
The City has a new state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant that treats effluent to a higher standard than provincial regulations. It has been designed to handle Selkirk’s present day population and up to 11,000 more to meet the city’s needs into the future. The new wastewater treatment plant was built to replace the old plant which no longer met provincial regulations and had reached the end of its life-cycle.
As of January 2017, new provincial regulations require treated wastewater, or effluent contain no more than 1mg/L of phosphorus and 15 mg/L of nitrogen.
The new highly efficient facility will exceed current guidelines, will align with new guidelines in the future and will be kinder to the environment and contribute to a healthy Red River and Lake Winnipeg.
Protecting the Red River and Lake Winnipeg is not only an immediate priority but a priority for generations to come.
City of Selkirk Revised Water and Wastewater Rates
The City of Selkirk has been approved by the Public Utilities Board (PUB) Order No. 95/23 for revised water and wastewater rates for City of Selkirk Utility as set out in Amending By-law No. 5379 (which amends By-law No. 5309), read for the third time and passed on August 28, 2023. COS Public Notice
We submitted the application to increase utility rates in the City of Selkirk due to the rising costs of maintaining and operating utilities as well as to ensure that we have funding for Selkirk’s 5-year capital plan for utilities.
Impact on you
One cubic meter is equal to…
- 1000 litres
- 2000 bottles of water (500ml)
- 220 Imperial gallons
- 208 toilet flushes
- 4 baths
- 25 washing machine loads
- 28 showers
THE COST OF CONSTRUCTING THE NEW PLANT TO UTILITY CUSTOMERS WILL BE ABOUT 1 CENT PER FLUSH.
Lower your bill by conserving water
Simple steps to conserve water and save money
Indoors
Turn it off
Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.
Switch it up
Switch to a low-flow shower head & low-flow toilet.
Time it
Time your showers to try to keep them below 5 minutes.
Check it out
Read your water meter when you first move into a property, and continue to do regular readings to keep your water consumption and utility bills as low as you can.
Check for leaking pipes, faucets, washer, dishwasher or fridge with an ice maker by reading your meter before bed or a period of time where no water will be used for at least 2 hours. If the reading has changed, you have a leak.
Detect a leaking toilet by adding a few drops of food colouring to the tank. If the tank is leaking, the coloured water will appear in the bowl.
If you suspect you have a leak or your water meter is damaged please contact Citizen Support at 204-785-4900 to book a meter inspection.
Load it/ Set it
Set the water levels in your washing machine to match the volume of clothing . If your machine only has one setting, operate with full loads only.
Outdoors
Sprinkle
Only water your lawn when signs of wilt occur and water for a short period of time in the early morning or evening. This will prevent the water from evaporating in the sun and will encourage your lawn to develop deeper roots resulting in a healthier lawn that requires less watering.
Control / Repair / Replace
Control the amount of water coming from your hose by ensuring that you have a nozzle equipped with an automatic shut off. Repair or replace leaky hoses.
Collect it
If you collect rainwater, you’ll be able to nourish your garden or lawn with your rain barrel reserve rather than using water from your hose.