The Town of Gibsons and Neptune Technologies Group Ltd. are set to begin installing cross connection control (CCC) and water meters in Gibsons on Monday, Feb. 16. The Town held its last informational open house on the soon-to-be-implemented CCC or backflow prevention devices Wednesday evening, drawing approximately 75 residents still concerned about the project after November's referendum was passed during the municipal election.The most common issue raised at the meeting was the possibility of the thermal expansion damaging hot water tanks after the CCC prevents water from backing up from the tanks and back into the Town's water system.
Several residents complained they did not know the CCC could cause damage to hot water tanks, especially older tanks.
"You scared me financially and you scared a lot of people who know nothing about thermal expansion," one resident said. "I think if you had told us that before your referendum, you might have had a different result."
The man's remark drew applause from attendees.
Dave Newman, director of engineering for the Town, acknowledged the potential but said the risk of damage is low based on previous installations.
"Neptune has installed these devices in communities across the country and they have found only about two per cent of homes have problems," Newman said. "We have already installed 75 of these in Gibsons and we have not had one complaint."
Newman added residents could lower the risk of a problem by testing the pressure relief valve on their hot water tanks and by lowering their tank thermostat to 49 C.
"If you have a problem, call us. You're not left in the lurch. If something shows up in the installation, we're here to help you," said Paul Gipps, chief administrative officer for the Town.
Another challenging issue was raised by residents who live in multi-unit buildings like duplexes and stratas who don't know how their building's water bill can be fairly divided among all the residents.
"That doesn't seem fair. We've got units in there with five and six people in them," one resident said.
Gipps told the crowd that his office was still in talks with strata councils on the issue.
"We're going to put together a list of the best practices other stratas in the province have done and say 'here are some suggestions.' This is very common. We're not just going to say 'here's your meter and there you go'," Gipps said.
He said some stratas in other jurisdictions have chosen to divide up their bill among the units according to how many residents occupy each unit.
There seemed to be some confusion among attendees that the November referendum was needed for the Town to go ahead with CCC.
Gipps and Newman stressed that the decision to switch the Town to CCC was handed down to the Town from Vancouver Coastal Health as part of up-to-date public water standards. The referendum was to decide only if the Town would switch from a flat rate system for water utility fees to a metered system.
"This was a requirement of Van-couver Coastal Health. The Town doesn't have a choice," Newman said. "We have to do something if we wanted to maintain a non-chlorinated system in Lower Gibsons."
Currently Gibsons residents pay a flat rate for water. In 2009 that rate will be about $375 for the year. Beginning in 2011, the Town will start charging for water based on metered use. The average water consumption over the next two years will set the base rate for metered charges.
The installation is set to go ahead in four phases, one area at a time. The first area set for the installations is north of Gibsons Way. Residents will be notified with an information package in the mail about four weeks before the scheduled installation.
A representative from Neptune said the meters have a life expectancy of about 20 years and will be replaced at the Town's expense at that time.
