Users to pay for water meter installation

News — 31 August 2010

After nearly 10 months of silence on the controversial issue, the City of Dryden is moving ahead with a plan to install water meters in local residences and businesses.

Council awarded the contract for water meter implementation to Neptune Technology for the estimated cost of $1,212,028, at the Aug. 18 regular meeting of council.

In November, a 4-3 vote in favour of water meters implementation was passed amidst fears that a negative result would jeopardize a critical funding application for the replacement of the city’s wastewater treatment plant — a top infrastructure priority in which the city had failed to secure funds for in three previous submissions.

With the water meter resolution ‘attached’ to their 2009 Build Canada Fund application, Dryden was awarded $29.9 million for the replacement of the their Sewage Treatment Plant.

The water meter project itself secured funding in July of 2009, splitting $1.8 million in costs between the federal, provincial and municipal governments.

Local resident and former city councilor Craig Nutall says the city’s share of $600,000 is about to be tacked onto residential and commercial water and sewer bills which have already seen a stiff rate spike this past July.

Last summer, Nutall brought a 400 signature petition against water meter implementation to council, citing opposition to unreasonable increases in utility fees for water users.

“I had over 400 people’s names and council was going to consider it,” said Nutall. “But now they’re ramming it down our throats that we have to pay one-third of the costs. The councillors and the mayor were elected to represent the people, not to listen to the administration all the time.”

While City of Dryden Treasurer Linda McNaughton confirms that implementation costs will be passed onto water users, she says the city has not decided on a particular cost recovery model.

“You’re going to have to pay for your meter,” said McNaughton. “There is going to be several options and we haven’t come up with the final model yet. Depending on the cost of the meter going into your location, you would have to pay one-third of that. You will probably be given the option to pay it up front, or have it tacked onto your water bill over a given period of time.”

A 2005 consultant report commissioned by the city estimated the cost of a residential water meter installation at $500.

Golden Mile Plaza owner Marcel Arseneault says water and sewer costs are already a significant major factor in his business.

“Every year it goes up 10 per cent,” he says. “As a homeowner you pay $94 a month, as a business it’s $154, while a business uses less water than a home. They just do what they want and there is a lot of people upset in this town.”

- Chris Marchand

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