City of Powell River council recently adopted a water conservation policy, a plan that includes the implementation of universal water metering by 2020.
Councillor Maggie Hathaway alone voted in opposition to the motion to adopt the policy, the purpose of which is to implement water conservation measures in order to reduce the consumption of water.
“Water meters can provide many benefits,” the policy states, in part. “If a water meter was present on every water service in the distribution system, public works crews could pin point the location of any system leak simply by comparison of water supply and demand. The elimination of leaks in a system as old as Powell River’s could provide a significant reduction in future capital cost and average daily water demand.”
Education is a key component of the policy leading up to the implementation of water metering by 2020 for industrial, commercial, institutional and residential users. This is a change from the target date of 2014 included in a draft document presented to council in December.
While she liked the education components in the policy, Hathaway said she wasn’t sure water meters were essential. “I think we’ve done a great job with recycling and other areas in educating the public for reduction of waste and I think we can do that with education with the use of water,” she said.
Hathaway also said that through research, she learned water meters are another smart meter, or can be. “I understand they’re somewhere in the vicinity of $1,000 each and their life span is 15 years,” she said. “It’s a huge amount of money to implement that and I’m not sure we’re even ready for it.”
Councillor Jim Palm pointed out that the timelines and guidelines in the policy are not “written in stone when this is passed. There are a number of steps we can take between now and 2020 to address our conservation.”
The policy will enable the city to apply for grants in the future, Palm said. As well, the city was required to submit a final report about the drinking water system upgrade project that included a water conservation plan adopted by council. The federal government is holding back 15 per cent of its contribution until city council has adopted a water conservation policy.
Councillor Debbie Dee pointed out that the intention of the policy was not to begin a process of privatization of water. “It’s to reduce the load, not only coming in, but going out,” she said.
Councillor Chris McNaughton said since council has adopted the region’s sustainability charter, every effort to achieve reduction and reuse of all of the area’s resources is important. He agreed with Dee that the cost of treating water both coming in and going out is quite extensive and it will not be less in the future. “Generally speaking, people are increasingly inclined toward a user-pay system for many things,” he said. ”So, the families that consume more will pay a little more and if you’re on a fixed income living on your own as a senior citizen, then you would be paying less, based on your consumption.”
The policy outlines a number of water conservation initiatives leading up to 2020.
