New Year Brings Changes

Starting today, the new metered water rates come into effect. Water meters have been in place now for over a year and residents have been receiving quarterly reports about water use, although the old flat rates have remained in effect. That all changes today.

At the Society's AGM last August, new rates were approved by the members present. Those rates have been approved by the Water Comptroller's Office in Victoria and are now part of our water tariff.

This change will have several effects, the most important of which is the ability to charge for actual water used. Under this new system, some users will pay less and some will pay more, just as we have done for years with electricity and any other utility or commodity we use. It is also possible that the Society's costs will go down because past history elsewhere seems to indicate that water use drops when water meters are installed.

The meters will be read at the end of March and the newly designed water bills will go out in early April.

Small Water Users Workshop

Brief notes and comments are posted about this workshop which 3 Society members attended. No really new information, although it was interesting to hear about what Interior Health intends to do about systems on long-term boil-water notices. Let's just say that it will pay to be proactive about fixing things before IH decides to get involved.

And Now - A Word from Holmes

The Province - April 26, 2009 - In an article by Mike Holmes (Holmes on Homes), a number of ways of cutting down on water waste are discussed. And since water wasted is money wasted, his comments should be interesting to anyone who pays for the water they use.

The full article can be seen on our website.

Interior Health Flexing its Muscle

The Valley Voice, Feb 25, 2009 - IHA has issued an order to the RDCK to treat and disinfect domestic water delivered to South Slocan water users. The work must be completed within a year and the users will have to pay for the work. Readers will recall that users of this system turned down an earlier plan to improve the system, one which would have cost users about $600/year. This order by IHA will force RDCK to borrow the funds needed, almost certainly resulting in far greater costs than the original plan.

System Update

It's been quiet this winter on the water front. Our subdivision now has nearly all residences on water meters and the Society is hoping to have a sample billing system in place by summer, subject to approval by the members. Plans are now being developed for maintenance projects during the coming summer.

Building Code is getting greener

I noticed in an old copy of the Nelson News that there have been energy and efficiency changes to the BC Building Code. Of interest is that as of last September, "low-flow" toilets are now mandatory in new construction and renovations (low-flow meaning 6 litres per flush or less). As well, there are maximum flow rates for taps and shower-heads. For more information, see: Greening the BC Building Code: First Steps.

The Annual General Meeting

The Society's AGM is being held today. See our Reports page to view selected reports on-line. We are also excavating a few street valves where some water meters will be installed. Repairs to various pieces of equipment are on-going. Contact the Society for more information.