Once upon a time, we drove large cars fueled by cheap and plentiful gasoline. In that time we also built poorly insulated homes, simply cranking the heat provided by cheap heating oil, natural gas and, yes, even electricity. It was also then that we ran sprinklers all day, flushed with abundance.

Those days, as we well know, are long gone.

The real costs of scarcity and environmental damage are now showing up in conventional energy prices. And for some years now, water has edged into that territory, no longer simply taken for granted and priced accordingly.

Again this year, rates for water and sewers are on the way up. We ignored the deteriorating infrastructure that brought us fresh water and piped away what we had used. We paid scant attention to the ecological system that provided the supply and absorbed our waste. No more. Prices are rising now to make up for years of neglect – the relatively free ride is over.

By now, Woolwich residents are no strangers to large increases in the price of water – the township has been hiking rates to reflect changes in provincial rules.

With the region planning for ongoing significant jumps in its rates, Wellesley and Woolwich residents on municipal services will continue to see those decisions – including never-curbed labour costs – reflected on their bills.

Over the next few years, rates could essentially double, the region claiming major work is needed to deal with aging infrastructure and to accommodate population growth.

However, necessary or not, increases do not play well with the public, the people who have been digging deeper into their pockets to pay for water. Part of the problem, of course, stems from a public perception that water is just there for taking.

As well, there is a growing contingent of users who rely on bottled water, filtration systems and other alternatives given their distrust of municipal systems. For these people, the increases may seem even more galling.

We’re paying more, but receiving nothing more in return – at least not much that we can see. To the contrary, the quality of the water from an aesthetic and taste perspective appears to be growing worse all the time, prompting the aforementioned use of bottled water.

While we can’t see where our cash is going, the townships and all other Ontario municipalities have been incurring increased costs due to government rules, much of it knee-jerk reaction to what happened in Walkerton. For communities with safe drinking water, the extra layer of red tape has served only to boost costs, with no effect on the product that pours out of our taps.

Regulations governing water testing – warranted or not – have helped boost costs, but nothing like the infrastructure upgrades that will be needed in the coming years. Again, some of those are the fault of the province, which has changed the way municipalities must handle water and sewage. The province hands out rules but no money, leaving the municipalities responsible for passing on the costs to its residents.

The bottom line is you’ll be paying more this year and every year for the foreseeable future, and no one in government, elected or otherwise, will be working to change that.

And just wait until growth demands a pipeline to service our water-poor region. Have your chequebooks handy.