Water Meter Questions – Answered

Last week, I sent off several questions to the city around water meters.

Today, I received some detailed responses.

Hopefully this will help answer any questions that you might have:

1) Will switching to a water meter prevent me from changing back to a flat rate at a later date? For example, if our water use increases and we are no longer saving money on a meter, can I simply change back to a flat rate?

If you choose to convert to a metered billing you cannot revert to the flat rate. On February 2, 2009 Common Council adopted a report of recommendations for Saint John Water, one of which is to have universal metering (metering all customers) implemented within 5 years. Our direction now is once an account is on meter based billing it shall remain meter based billing. The intent of metering is one of accountability; people should pay for what they use. It has been proven that water customers on meters are more conscientious of their water use and take steps to reduce their consumption where possible.

2) With a water meter, do I have to manually send in a cheque every two months, or can I setup automatic payments from my bank account?

Automatic debits to your bank account are available.

3) Are there licensed plumbers that the city will recommend to do this work (plumbers that have installed water meters before)?

We do not recommend one licensed plumber over another, all should be capable of the installation. One thing they do have to be reminded of is that the meter has to be installed on the horizontal, in an accessible area and protected from freezing. If these conditions are not met, we will reject the installation.

4) Does the service charge increase when flat rate prices increase?

All charges are subject to change upon the approval of Common Council.

5) Will the city help subsidize the cost to have the water meter installed?

We do not have any programs in place at this time, but we are looking at a possible “pilot program” to supply and install residential water meters where conditions allow. A register has been created to record residential customers wanting to convert to metered billings. If you would like your name added to our list, please respond with your name, postal address, phone number, number of people in the household and the number of residential units in your building (eg: single family, duplex, garden home, etc.)

6) How can I tell the size of the meter I will need in my house (without having to bring in a plumber first)? I want to try and calculate how much I will pay per year with a meter.

The size is not only governed by the size of your service line, but also the demand for water within the building. Most single family homes can function with the smallest meter we have available (5/8”), but everyone’s expectation or situation is different. The 2009 ‘break even’ point with the flat rate is 467 litres of water per day (5/8”).

7) Is there any more information that I can get on water meters?

We will soon be posting some common Questions & Answers regarding water meters on our Website.