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METRO VANCOUVER — For 2026, households in Metro Vancouver will contribute on average $897 for the year, or about $75 a month, for all of their staple services.

These include drinking water, wastewater treatment, solid waste management, regional planning and regional parks.

“We understand the pressure residents are feeling from rising costs. We’ve taken action to protect affordability while continuing to deliver the high-quality services residents rely on every day,” said Mike Hurley, chair of the Metro Vancouver Boards, in a statement. “Through a Services and Cost Efficiencies Review undertaken in the spring, we identified more than $360 million in operational savings over the next five years, substantially reducing costs for ratepayers across the region.”

Breaking down the costs, in 2026, households will pay on average:

• $81 for regional district services (including regional planning, regional parks, air quality management, E-911, Invest Vancouver and more)
• $208 for drinking water services
• $74 for solid waste services
• $534 for liquid waste services

According to Metro Vancouver, savings were achieved by lowering debt servicing costs through reducing capital infrastructure spending, adjusting project timelines and optimizing work plans.

The reductions come after criticism over the large budget for the contentious North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant project, which has been plagued with ongoing litigation.

A independent review for the $3.86 billion project was halted in July after Metro Vancouver’s board of directors decided it is “not in the public interest while Metro Vancouver’s litigation with former contractor Acciona is ongoing.”

The board also crunched some numbers pertaining to the Iona Island wastewater treatment plant build. The new approach is expected to be $4 billion cheaper than the original plan, which was for a complete rebuild that would have cost almost $10 billion.

The majority of Metro Vancouver’s operating and capital budgets are financed through utility fees for drinking water, sewerage and solid waste management, the release adds.

Property taxes account for a small portion of the Metro Vancouver budget and support the regional parks system, as well as other services including air quality management and regional planning.