Thanks to everyone that attended the March 14th Water Meter Open House. Your input is greatly appreciated! Click here for the Survey that was at the Open House. You have until March 29th to complete it. We will review the surveys and advise our findings as soon as we can. Stay tuned!

WE WANT TO GET IT RIGHTï¿½ WITH YOUR HELP

Council and staff have been reviewing the proposed water meter rates. The data collected from the readings, and the comments received from our residents, are being taken into consideration to help us determine a fair rate structure. We are addressing concerns that rates were too high during the summer months, and that low water users were not given enough incentive to conserve. Early in 2013 we will give residents the chance to provide input on a few different options of metered rate structures. Open houses will be held to gather input and provide information. Residents will continue to be informed through our website, the newsletter, and at Municipal Hall. Informational billing statements will recommence in the spring with the new metered rate structure. Metered rates will not come into effect until 2014. Our goal is to encourage responsible water use, bill on a user-pay system, while at the same time provide a rate structure that is affordable for residents to keep their lawns green. With all that said, the District needs to collect $1.9 million from our residential users to provide quality drinking water. Metering is very complex; however, with your help, we can find a metering rate system that works for our residents.

(Agricultural Water Meter information will be announced at a later date).

Water Meter Information Statements will give residential customers a chance to see what their costs will be, compare charges, and make some water saving adjustments if necessary. This will also be an opportunity to check for any problems or leaks that you may not have been aware of. You will receive this informational statement until the end of the year to provide you with figures at various seasons. Customers will continue to receive the regular utility bill that is due and payable each month as usual. In January 2014, the proposed rates will be adopted and put into effect providing they prove that the total revenue collected for the Water Utility remains about the same.

ï¿½ When is the District going to start billing for water based on water meter readings?

Council is in the process of establishing the rates for residential metered water. These rates will not come into effect until January 2014. Council has established proposed rates in order to send out this water usage information to our customers. Council will be reviewing these proposed rates and adjusting them to ensure that metered rates provide approximately the same revenue for the Water Utility as that provided prior to the installation of meters. Call Municipal Hall at 250 494-6451 for any cost inquiries.

ï¿½ What are the metered water charges going to be?

Once Council has received information on how much revenue the proposed rates (as reflected on the reverse of this letter) provide, along with any problems or inequities in the proposed rates, Council will adjust the rates accordingly before they adopt the new rates for implementation in January 2014.

ï¿½ How often will the District be billing me for metered water?

Once the rates are adopted (possibly January 2014) domestic water meter billings (does not include Agricultural blue box water meters) will continue to be billed once per month, and will be included with your utility bill as they are now.

ï¿½ Who do we call if we are having trouble with our meter or need to have a meter installed?

If your water meter has a leak, or there appears to be damage to the meter, or you have not received a meter yet, contact our Engineering and Public Works Office at 250-494-0431.

ï¿½ How does the District read my meter?

There is no need for the District to enter your home to read the water meter. District staff gathers meter readings with an electronic meter reader that is driven down Summerland streets. They then download the information to our computer system which then produces your monthly utility bill.

Your meter is equipped with a small solar cell, which supplies power for the panel. If the panel is grey, you will need to shine a flashlight on the meter and within a few seconds you will see some numbers appear. Write down the 9 digits. There is a decimal between the 5^th and the 6^th digit. The numbers before the decimal indicate cubic metres.

Shine your flashlight over the small flashlight symbol above
the number and then read the number to get your water meter reading

For example: If your number is 00519.0121 it would mean you have used 519 cubic metres since the meter was installed. In order to know how many cubic metres you use each month, you will need to know your last monthï¿½s reading and subtract it from the current monthï¿½s accumulating total.

Your meter measures water in cubic meters. One cubic meter is 1000 litres or about 220 imperial gallons.