Utilities

Electricity
Gas
Telecommunication
Water

Electricity

BC Hydro provides low cost electricity to the Province of British Columbia.  In fact, according to a 2001 Electricity rate comparison, BC placed 2nd in small, medium and large power cost in North America compared to 21 other jurisdictions.

Gas

Terasen Gas delivers natural gas to homes and businesses throughout B.C. They’re the third largest utility in Canada and serve more than 850,000 customers.

Telecommunication

Telus
www.telus.com
Shaw
www.shaw.ca

Attributes

Both Telus and Allstream provide direct connections to Canada’s IP backbone, which provides cross-connection to the U.S. via Vancouver and Calgary.  Local connections have multiple routes to provide critical redundancy.  ATM data switches are available throughout the Fraser Valley.  Other available services include; ISDN, DSL, Frame Relay, DS3, T1, T3, E10, E100 service.  BC does not tax toll-free numbers.

Water

The water distribution function in the District of Mission is carried out by a municipally operated water utility. The utility is self liquidating in that it is totally funded by user Rates and Area Taxes and not from general taxation.

The area which receives water supply is called the Water Specified Area and comprises approximately 2,050 hectares of land. The area is serviced by approximately 137 kilometres of watermain with about 85 percent of the local population being sup0plied with Municipal water.

The Central Fraser Valley Water commission (CFVWC) provides the bulk water supply for the District of Mission and the City of Abbotsford. The primary water source for the bulk supply is from Norrish Creek with backup provided by Cannell Lake. At the present time the primary and secondary treatment of the water is by chlorination and chloramination. By the end of 2002 the Norrish Creek system will have a slow sand filtration system in place to enhance the treatment of the water supply. In 2002 the annual User Rate charged to a single family residence is $179.40.

Sanitary Sewer Utility

Similar to the water system, the sanitary sewer function in Mission is handled as a municipally operated sewer utility. The utility is self liquidating in that it is totally funded by User Rates and Area Taxes and not from general taxation.

The area which receives or is capable of receiving sanitary sewer service is termed the Sewer Specified Area and comprises approximately 1,000 hectares of land. The area is serviced by an estimated 120 kilometres of sanitary sewer main with about 65 percent of the municipal population being served.

In 2002 the annual User Rate charged to a single family residence is $211.20.

Storm Sewer Utility

The District of Mission is serviced with approximately 70 kilometres of storm sewer main; the storm sewer system services about 65 percent of the developed urban area.