Blenheim Road homeowners will have to pay up for Cambridge sewer installation

Property owners living on the outer edge of Cambridge will be paying for a sewer installation. CTV's Colton Wiens explains.

Property owners living on the outer edge of Cambridge will be paying for a sewer installation.

On Tuesday, the city voted on a special charges bylaw that puts homeowners on the hook for thousands of dollars.

Cambridge installed a new sewer system on Blenheim Road to connect it to the city’s existing system. Many of those properties had previously been using septic tank systems.

“When we purchased [the property], we knew that we had a holding tank,” said Lesley Short, a Blenheim Road resident. “We didn’t know anything was sort of scheduled to replace that system. But we were okay with the concept. So, when we heard about it, we thought, ‘Okay, well, you know, it’s going to be better for property values, and it’ll be a better system not having to worry about pumping out the tank and such.’”

The installation cost the city nearly $162,000. Staff recommended the special bylaw to get property owners to pay for nearly half of the work.

“We didn’t realize that our cost to do so was going to be, I think roughly, we put about $15,000 into it,” Short said. “We didn’t know that that was going to be the actual cost, and that part of that was going to go on our taxes. Then, the other part of that was having to pay for a contractor to come and actually decommission the old system and tie it all in. So, yeah, it was a little bit of a shock. I mean, $15,000 isn’t insignificant. But we just kind of assumed we had no choice but to do it and to pay it. Kind of is what it is. So, we just accepted it, and we’ve gone ahead being good taxpaying citizens. So, we paid for it.”

According to the city, sewer replacements are typically funded through water bills. The Blenheim Road properties have not historically paid into the wastewater reserve system, so a local improvement process is being undertaken to partially fund the extension.

What each property pays will depend on the size of their lots. The city gave owners a chance to object or correct the charges, but no complaints were filed.

“To me, it was a little bit of a surprise. But we’re not difficult people, so we just kind of paid it and moved on,” Short said.

Council unanimously voted in favour of the bylaw at Tuesday’s meeting. Payments will be due by Dec. 19, 2025, or owners could face interest at a rate of prime plus 2 per cent.

Beyond the cost of a sewer system, Short would also like to see a speed bump installed on Blenheim Road.

“We have got cars that fly down Blenheim Road. They come over the tracks and then they gun it, or they gun it before they get to the track,” she explained. “It’s a little dangerous trying to get out of your driveway when there’s cars whizzing by.”