Water metering is just one of the strategies suggested in a report prepared by R. Radloff & Associates Inc. to reduce water consumption in Burns Lake.
The report was recently presented to the Burns Lake council, who’s now deciding which strategies to implement.
According to Radloff’s report, water use is usually 70 per cent higher with flat annual rates when compared to usage where volumetric rates are in place.
If meters were installed in all residential and commercial buildings in Burns Lake, it would allow for a change in the rate system from a flat annual rate to a volumetric rate.
Currently, of the 629 residences in Burns Lake, 40 (approximately six per cent) are metered. Of the 142 industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) service connections, 43 (approximately 30 per cent) are metered.
Customers who have been metered have benefited from the village’s ability to more easily detect service pipe leaks based on significant increases in their water consumption.
If metering was combined with education, says the report, it would be much more effective than metering alone, because it would give the customers strategies to reduce their consumption.
However. metering is a relatively costly option to implement, according to the report.
As estimate prepared in 2013 and presented to the village council indicated that the cost to install meters for the remainder of residential service connections would total $391,686 ($665 per connections for 589 meters). In addition to the installation costs, once the meters are installed the village would have to allocate resources for reading meters and processing the collected data. The village would also become responsible for maintenance and replacement of the meters.
Radloff’s report points out that given the finances and responsibilities associated with residential meter installation, it would be difficult to justify the costs and implications of meter use when the benefits cannot be readily quantified.
Reduction in overall per capita water consumption could provide benefits such as reducing chemical volumes needed to treat wastewater; reducing the environmental impact related to water volumes withdrawal from the watershed; and reducing costs associated with operation and maintenance of the water system infrastructure.
The report also suggests other ways to promote water conservation, including offering a reduction in the current rate that customers pay. This would be offered as a reward if specific reduction goals established by the village were met. A similar reward could be offered to the metered ICI customers on a case-by-case basis.
Non-metered residential customers are currently billed at an annual flat rate of $243.21. Metered residential customers are currently billed by volume, with a minimum monthly cost of $18.30, and an increasing block rate.
Non-metered ICI customers are currently divided into two categories - small (which are billed at an annual flat rate of $243.21) and large (which are billed at an annual flat rate of $685.3). Metered ICI customers are currently billed by volume, with a minimum monthly cost of $57.14, and an increasing block rate.
Radloff’s report also suggests that the village could offer free kits to residents that contain items to help with water conservation. These kits could contain a variety of different items such as washers to fix household leaks, toilet dams or displacement bags to reduce flush volumes, toilet flush valves to stop leaks and faucet aerators.
According to Sheryl Worthing, Chief Administrative Officer for the Village of Burns Lake, council still hasn’t determined which strategies will be implemented. Village staff will now review the suggestions made by Radloff and bring back a cost to be approved by council.
According to Environment Canada, Burns Lake has a daily average per capita water use that is significant lower than the national daily average.
Due to the fact that a significant portion of both ICI and residential services are unmetered, it is not currently possible to determine if metered service connections are utilizing less water than their equivalent unmetered counterparts.