Woodstock has recently completed an in-depth Utilities Review to ensure the long-term sustainability of the water and wastewater infrastructure. Based on the findings of this review, the Town Staff has recommended changes to utility rates, including an increase for water and wastewater services, a municipal water restriction protocol.

The Town of Woodstock Council is proposing new By-Law 160.2 A By-law Regulating the Use of the Water and Sewer System of the Town of Woodstock and The Rates to be Charged Therefore.  This by-law would replace existing By-Law 160.1 which is applicable in Ward 4 only.

For the complete bylaw visit webpage: https://woodstocknb.ca/bylaws-policies

To set up a payment plan, contact the Town of Woodstock Utility Office direct 506-325-4615 or email utility@WoodstockNB.ca

There are many ways to pay your water and sewer bill

ONLINE

Sign up for e-services, The Town of Woodstock online portal. This gives residents the opportunity to view their Water and Sewer Utility Bills as well as make payments on their account from a computer or smart phone.  All you need is your account number and sign-up key code both located on your water & sewer bill or you can obtain by calling the Utility Department direct 506-325-4615 or email utility@WoodstockNB.ca for more information.

SIGN-UP INSTRUCTIONS (You will need to do this only once):

1. In your browser, go to http://woodstock.ws.townsuite.com/login
2. Click the green bar that says "Sign up Now”
3. Click the blue bar that says "Resident or Business Owner...”
4. Enter the Sign-Up Key as it is found on your utility bill or call the office to obtain
5. Enter your last name
6. Click ”Submit” Key”
7.  Enter your information on the next form
8. Check the "Enable e-billing” checkbox
9. Click the "Submit” button

Once completed, you will receive a confirmation email. You can then follow the link shown in that email to confirm your email address and complete the signup process. For additional information, including a detailed tutorial on how to register, click the "Sign Up Guide” located at the bottom of your water & sewer utility bill.

or

Service New Brunswick Online: click here and click the blue link, all you need is your method of payment, and account number "located on the top right of your Water & Sewer utility bill (usually 5 letters and 3 numbers.  ex:"SMTIJ001”)

IN PERSON Hours of operation 8 am-4:30 pm

Town Hall, 824 Main Street

or

Payment Centre at AYR Motor Centre, 105 Connell Park Road.  

• Be the resident of a self-contained home as of January 1, 2024 and have filed a 2023 New Brunswick income tax return.
• Have a total family income of $47,700.00 or less for both the applicant and spouse or common-law partner, as indicated on line 26000 of the income tax return for the previous year.
• Submit a copy of their 2023 Notice of Assessment.

The Town of Woodstock water is closely monitored by a water team that follows a strict Department of Environment and local Government approval to operate, making sure chlorine samples meet or exceed set limits daily, and weekly samples are taken by trained staff and submitted to an accredited lab to ensure the water is safe to drink. All results are closely monitored by the lab, town staff and The Provincial Department of Health.

The Town of Woodstock has two wells 150 ft deep, a well house and a water treatment facility located on an island in the middle of the St. John River housing Noth America's First Biological Manganese Removal filter.  Treated drinking water flows through an extensive network of almost 54 KM of pipe. The Town has 3 water storage tanks holding 85,000 Gal (3217m3) and 5 booster stations to provide adequate water pressure. These parts of infrastructure assist in transporting water throughout the system and to your homes and places of work.

There are several reasons why a water main break can occur - a change in temperature, excessive pressure, age of the pipe, etc. If you notice a water main break, call the Utility Dept. direct at 506-325-4615 or after hours 506-325-4896. email: utility@WoodstockNB.ca

Report a Watermain Break - There are several reasons why a water main break can occur - a change in temperature, excessive pressure, age of the pipe, etc.  If you notice a water main break:

• During regular office hours (8am-4:30pm) call the Front Desk at 506-325-4656 or the Utility Administrative Department at 506-325-4615.
• For after-hours emergencies call 506-325-4896 Fire Department Dispatch, and they will report the problem Utility.

We know you rely on us to provide reliable access to clean and safe water. When outages happen, we work to notify you and restore service as quickly as possible. Updates if required during a water break are posted on social media. Boil order notices are handed out door to door where possible and posted on social media and posted on website.

 Are you signed up for our notifications?  Click Here

Water main breaks are often repaired under positive pressure to prevent boil orders sometimes leading to localized low water pressure and turbid (dirty) water. In some cases, water has to be completely shut off in order to do the repair often leading to localized boil orders, in this case The Provincial Department of Health is involved implementing and rescinding a boil water order.  All repairs are done as soon as possible.

 The time it takes to fix a break varies due to several factors including digging in frozen ground, frost depth, how quickly the break can be located, the size of the break and the current weather conditions. 

In the event of a boil order FAQ Link:

Here are some things you can do to reduce water consumption. 

• Repair a leaking toilet. Did you know up to 200 gallons of water per day can be wasted through a leaky toilet? That’s a tanker trailer per month! If you suspect a leaky toilet, do the leaky toilet test.  Test kits can be picked up at The Town Hall, 824 Main Street or drop about 4 to 5 drops of food coloring in the toilet tank. You may want to use a dark color such as blue or red. Wait 20 to 30 minutes and then survey the toilet bowl. If the colored water appears in the bowl within 15 minutes, there is a leak in the flapper valve.

• Collect rain water for watering flower beds and gardens.

• Reduce shower time (3 out of 4 adult Canadians spend 5 minutes or more in the shower. Reducing your shower by 2 minutes will save 13 to 40 liters (depending on your shower head). 

• Minimize loads of laundry. Each load will save 50 to 90 (or more) liters.

• Only run your dishwasher when it is completely full. Did you know a dishwasher before 1994 can use about 9-14 gallons of water per load?  New standard HE dishwashers use less then 4 gallons every load.

• Turn off water taps while engaged in tasks such as shaving and brushing teeth.  Turning off water while doing this saves up to 8 liters per minute.

• Use minimal water in the sink for washing dishes and the bathtub for bathing.

• Defrost food overnight in the refrigerator or by using the defrost setting on your microwave instead of running water over it.

Early in 2005 Woodstock introduced a new 136,000 m3 aerated wastewater treatment lagoon. This lagoon was designed to handle Woodstock's community plus future growth and still maintain highly treated levels of effluent following federal regulations, monitored by town staff and Department of Environment and local Government.  All wastewater reaches the lagoon by a network of 55 km of gravity main lines, 8 sewage lift stations and almost 3KM of force main pipes.  Lift stations which feed the force mains are checked daily to ensure they are working correctly.

As a homeowner and resident, you share a responsibility to use our sewage system responsibly. It’s simple—only human waste and toilet paper. Nothing else. No flushable wipes!

What not to flush:

• flushable personal wipes
• cooking grease or animal grease

• rags

• hair

• kitty litter

• solvents, paint

• sanitary napkins

• tampon applicators, plastic

• tampon applicators, cardboard

• tampons

• disposable diapers

• condoms

It doesn’t matter what it says on the package, these items are not flushable. They do not biodegrade during the time spent in the wastewater collection and treatment systems; they cause blockages in sanitary sewer service connections, mains and lift stations, causing backups and unnecessary discharges to the environment, resulting in thousands of dollars in maintenance and repair costs each year in our Town.

 Every community has areas where sanitary lines have little or no grade, tree root infiltration, or for other reasons can be a problem area.  We realize that these problems do not go away and choose to take a proactive approach, we periodically flush sewer mains with pressurized water and vacuum from a flushing truck. The process removes any build up of excess debris.  During this process water could be expelled from fixtures in your home such as toilets.  Crews should be made aware of these so pressures can be adjusted. Risk can be mitigated by flushing after each use and keeping toilet closed.

If you experience a plugged sewer, call Utility Dept. direct 506-325-4615 or after hours 506-325-4896 or email: utility@WoodstockNB.ca so we can determine where the problem exist.  An important item to check with your service line leaving your house or building is if it has a back water valve.  Back water valves are required by Town by-laws and will greatly reduce the odds of water backing up into your basement.

 A storm sewer is a separate sewer from the sanitary sewer.  While the sanitary sewer removes wastewater from your house, the storm sewer removes rainwater from the streets and consists of over 12km of pipe in the town. Although in some areas of town these sewers are combined, steps are being taken to separate storm water from the sewer system.  It costs extra money to treat rainwater when it is not necessary; rain water that enters a storm sewer has outfalls that can discharge into river & streams, where wastewater goes to the lagoon.