Editor:
I have to question the SCRD’s announcement that millions of litres of water are being saved because of the installation of the water meters. (“Meter-based leak detection saving a million litres a day: SCRD,” Sept. 29) Our property was identified as having a continuous leak and we were instructed to investigate and fix the problem. After speaking with someone at the SCRD about the situation, I learned that they actually did not know for a fact if there was a leak. Apparently the amount of water we were using had increased substantially so it was “assumed” that there was a leak. In actual fact, we started watering our vegetable, fruit and other edible plants around the same time and this is what triggered the increase in water consumption.
We have been monitoring our meter on our own and know for a fact that there is no leak. At no time did the SCRD follow up with us to confirm the leak had been fixed. At this point in the growing season, I have dramatically reduced the water use in the garden and can only assume the SCRD determined the leak is fixed since the consumption rate has dropped here.
I believe everyone must conserve water, but that does not eliminate the need for a better water supply. To this writer it is apparent that the water meter did not identify a leak and you don’t need a meter to tell you that water consumption will be higher in the dry months. I can only wonder how many other false negative readings were made among the 900+ “meter-based leak detections” reported by the SCRD.
Meryl Michael, Gibsons
