The Township of Nipigon has been planning to move our existing sewer charges from tax bills to water bills over the past year. This has been discussed at our council meetings. Information has been in the local Gazette newspaper, on CFNO radio, and in our council packages which can be found on our website. We also had a special town hall style meeting last fall to explain the proposed change, and to answer questions. If you opened your water bill and were still surprised to see the change—well, hey, we get it. You are busy with life and haven’t had time to sort through the information that has been out there. We understand and are happy to explain with some answers.

1. Why is the billing system changing?

The reason is simple—to make things fairer for ALL sewage system users in Nipigon. To explain, many buildings in town do not pay tax (like churches or the legion) and some make payments in lieu of property taxes, like MNR/Service Ontario and the schools. Because our sewage charges were always part of our tax bills, these buildings were not paying for sewage, or at least not paying based on their usage. It’s not their fault; it’s just how our taxes were set up.

To help spread the burden of the cost of the sewage system across all users, the Township of Nipigon council opted to move the sewage charges onto water bills. That way, all those buildings mentioned above (which do pay for water on a separate bill) will be charged properly for their sewage use, just like they are charged for water use.

Also, because our sewage was on property tax bills, when someone built a structure on their property (like a garage)—even though they may not have sewage hooked up to it—the property owner was essentially still paying for sewage for that structure through their increased assessment and subsequent tax bill. Under this new billing system, that won’t happen.

The vast majority of municipalities charge for sewage this way—it makes sense.

2. Is this charge on my bill EXTRA? Like on TOP of what I already pay on my taxes?

No. This is a charge that was on your taxes but has simply been moved to your water bill. However, there is a reason why it will not be reflected immediately on your current 2026 tax bill. See question #4 for an explanation.

If you are not on township sewage, you will not be charged for sewage system use. 

3. What is the sewage billing based on?

Many communities have one set rate for all residences, but we have chosen to model the sewage charges after our water charges. Dwellings will be charged based on how many people live at the house. If the dwelling is their home address, they are considered to be living there even if they spend lots of time away (like a college student, for example, or someone that works out of town). Unfortunately, we cannot keep track of how many weeks or months someone spends at a dwelling and adjust bills accordingly—with hundreds of houses, it’s just not possible. 

4. If it’s coming off my tax bill, why is my first 2026 tax bill STILL THE SAME AMOUNT? Shouldn’t I see a decrease in my tax bill?

You will eventually. But, by provincial law, our interim taxes must be set at 50% of what was charged in 2025. This allows us to collect operating revenues while we work to set our final budget, which is usually done in early spring because that’s when we know the cost of our levies (such as OPP, Health Unit, Superior EMS, etc.) and the amounts we will receive in grant funding. Once our final budget is set, we can figure out what each property owes for 2026, and calculate final tax bills by subtracting the interim taxes paid from this total amount owed. 

So basically, our interim property tax bills—because they’re based on 2025 property taxes—do include charges that were once earmarked for sewers, but they won’t be applied to sewers because we’re collecting that revenue through water billing. Instead, those funds will essentially be applied to your final property tax bills once the Township sets its final budget and figures out what each property owes for 2026.  In other words, the migration of sewer charges from property taxes to water billing will be reflected entirely in your final property tax billing, rather than being divided between your interim and final property tax bills. It’s definitely a little confusing, especially when you don’t have your final property tax bill yet and can’t see the difference. The provincial rules around property taxes don’t really let us do it any other way, and thankfully the confusion will only happen this year. We appreciate your patience with the process, and trust us—these changes will make sewage charges fairer for everybody.

Unfortunately, those who get their property taxes paid through their mortgages may not see a difference in their payments until the end of 2026 when their mortgage company reconciles their tax payments with their actual 2026 property tax bill.  If you have questions, contact your mortgage company and they should be able to provide answers.

5. This quarterly water/sewage bill is so large now. I can’t possibly pay it all at once! What can I do?

You can divide the payment up as long as it is paid by the due date. For instance. If your quarterly bill is $400, you can elect to pay $200 on March 2 and the other $200 on March 30. This can help with your monthly budgeting and cash flow. Or pay $100 per week for four weeks. You can pay by e transfer, or in person, or by mail, in these increments. As long it’s paid by the due date, the Township is happy to take incremental payments. If you need help figuring out a payment schedule that works for you, please talk to our friendly staff.

6. What if I have MORE questions?

Ask the people who know—your municipal staff. Direct questions via email to or call Simran at 807-887-3135 ext 0.