Editor:
Successive regional district boards and the infrastructure services department of the SCRD have glommed on to the idea that water meters are the easiest way to deal with water consumption, partly because funding for this project can be applied for from the provincial government. In truth, less well-off homeowners will carry the brunt of this punitive action, while the rich will certainly not be bothered by having to pay more to water their yards or fill their pools. Legislation for water-using appliances and public education can reduce personal water consumption by up to 30 per cent. But the most frustrating aspect of this course of action is that there is no water shortage here. Only a lack of vision.
Private management of our water system is unacceptable. Water meter companies install, maintain, repair and read their water meters, and charge us for that service. Private companies have only one goal. Profit. The tax dollars we spend on water meters could be put directly into infrastructure repairs, upgrades and expansion, all dearly needed.
The idea that water meters are needed when we receive 4.5 feet of rain on average, per year, is absurd. The conservation discussion that needs to happen is about retaining at the source the abundant natural resource that we are lucky enough to enjoy.
The board has blindly bought into the idea that water meters are the solution to an infrastructure that does not serve the populace. This choice does not keep our taxes on the coast, keep the proportionally fair pricing for water already in place through taxation, or fund the upgrade, repair and expansion of a system in trouble.
Make your feelings known now to your area representative. I certainly am.
Kathryn Para, Gibsons
