Time for council to make a water-meter splash

Friday, November 2, 2007

There are some things that are just so obviously needed that it defies logic to say no.

Right now, for Kamloops, it’s water meters.

And it’s time for this council to do what the previous council was too afraid to do and make them mandatory for all residences.

Why this must happen is obvious to anyone who has ever expressed any concern at all about global warming, the environment, the growth of the city or something as simple as cutting one of the myriad costs homeowners must pay.

First, some facts.

Environment Canada says more than half of the water used by municipalities goes into homes, followed by the commercial sector (19 per cent), industrial buildings (16 per cent) and — believe it or not — leakage from pipes (13 per cent).

The Organization for Economic Development — an international organization to which Canada belongs and that works toward sustainable economic growth, improved standards of living, financial stability and economic development — ranks Canada 28th of its 29 member countries in terms of water consumption per capita.

Who’s worse than us?

The United States.

Who’s better than us? France (Canada’s rate is twice as high as the average French person), Germany (Canada is three times greater), Sweden (four times greater) and Denmark (eight times greater).

In fact, Canada’s per-capita water consumption rate is 65 per cent greater than the OECD average.

The organization notes that since 1980, overall water use in Canada has increased by 25.7 per cent, five times higher than the OECD average of 4.5 per cent.

Nine OECD members (Sweden, the Netherlands, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Poland, Finland and Denmark) lowered their overall use.

We’re told we have an abundance of water.

Even at this week’s council meeting, David Duckworth, the city’s public works and utilities director — and a man who has said he can’t believe a city like Kamloops still has no mandatory water metering system — stated this.

Last year, however, Innovation Canada.ca’s online magazine published an article by David Schindler, a professor of ecology at the University of Alberta and recipient of many awards for his scholarship in the field, that said it just looks like we have a lot of water because our water tends to pool into lakes and rivers.

However, if we look at annual water runoff, which Schindler says is the true indicator of total water available, it’s about average, at seven per cent.

If we were to empty our major lakes, Schindler said, it would take more than 100 years to refill them.

Just as we’re all worrying about global warming, we need to worry about our water supply.

And that means we have stop using it as if there’s an endless supply.

The only way to do that in Kamloops is to show people how much water they use and, often, waste.

Meters will do this. There is no other clear indicator to a homeowner about the cost of a utility like having to pay the cost to use it.

Coun. Tina Lange, among others on council, gets it.

She didn’t want to ask for yet another report on mandatory water meters at Tuesday’s meeting, but she also wants to be sure all councillors have every scrap of information possible before they decide on their next step.

That next step must be voting for universal mandatory water meters.

This council cannot do what its predecessor did and wimp out, going to the public on a referendum rather than doing the right thing and risking the wrath of some people with large properties or who just don’t like to see change.

It’s why we elect politicians.

To make decisions. To plan our future. To look at the big picture.

And that means looking beyond the next municipal election.

As Lange puts it, councillors — as well as the rest of us — need to be stewards of the environment.

It’s time for this council to show true leadership. So get your report, take the time to read it — and then do the right thing.

It’s time for water meters.

In many ways, it’s almost too late for them.

dale@kamloopsthisweek.com