It doesn't appear the City of Whitehorse will be acting anytime soon on the costs some residents are paying to have their water delivered.

'At this point, I don't know what we can do,' Mayor Ernie Bourassa said in an interview this morning.

At Monday evening's city council meeting, Wolf Creek resident Max Fraser asked the city do something about the cost of water delivery, which has risen sharply in the past year.

'I feel there are times when a council should act,' he said.

When Fraser moved to Wolf Creek in 1978, he knew he would be responsible for his own water.

Rather than having a well installed, he decided to get his water delivered.

Now, that's costing him $720 a year after the territorial government began enforcing regulations governing truck weight last year.

Yukon Water Services increased its prices by 35 per cent to account for the new regulations, which have reduced the amount of water or other cargo some trucks can carry.

The amount a truck can carry is dependent on its axles. A truck with a single steering axle can carry up to 7,300 kilograms, for example.

Fraser noted the two private sector water delivery companies in Whitehorse haven't been able to reach a solution on how to deal with the higher costs. He's now calling on the territorial and municipal levels of government to work on a remedy.

'Nobody can live without water,' he said, pointing out the city is in the business of water delivery.

He added if electricity, cable TV or phone costs escalated as much as water delivery costs have shot up, the city would hear about it 'loud and clear.'

As Bourassa noted this morning though, when the choice is made to live in a country residential area, residents must either pay for a well or have water delivered.

Even the city's water system is paid for entirely by users, the mayor pointed out.

'People in Whitehorse pay 100 per cent for water,' Bourassa said.

He noted that even if the city did something about the matter, he would be in a conflict of interest because he has his water delivered to his Hidden Valley subdivision home.

Bourassa also questioned the fairness of doing something for those who have water delivery when others have paid the entire price of having a well dug.

Before prices rose, Bourassa and his wife, Linda, were paying about $45 for a truck-load of water. It's now about $60 per load.