MOOSE JAW — The City of Moose Jaw wants to complete its smart water meter project this year but must convince nearly 1,000 property owners to jump on board the initiative.
City administration provided an update about the project — approved in December 2020 and begun in October 2022 — during the March 24 executive committee meeting.
Of the 12,560 water meters in Moose Jaw, contractor Neptune Technology Group Canada Co. has replaced 11,622 — a completion rate of roughly 92.5 per cent — with new technology, leaving 938 properties on the “soft refusal list,” a council report said.
Those owners have not engaged with Neptune or city hall during the communications phases between 2022 and 2024, even though those phases were focused on account holders, the document continued. This focus created a gap in rental homes and businesses, which means the city’s communications this year will be directed at building owners.
Of those 938 soft refusals, 24 locations are considered “a hard refusal.”
The report quoted several sections of the sewer and water utility bylaw about who maintains and controls the water meters (the city and city engineer, respectively), about the city treasurer having the power to discontinue water supply to delinquent properties and about what happens to a meter that fails to meet the property technological requirements.
“The previously used city-owned meters are obsolete and do not meet the requirements set by the city engineer or the department of operations,” the report said. “(Moreover), the city is no longer purchasing parts to service these meters. Additionally, the city will not offer an opt-out option to maintain service for the obsolete meters.”
Furthermore, the city has flagged 36 properties as “homeowner tasks,” where contractors cannot access sites, there are lead services, or there are plumbing issues that prevent installation, the report noted. The city will again issue letters to those owners about addressing those concerns.
Meanwhile, there are 106 locations where the city must address issues, with 13 areas related to missing or inoperable municipal-owned curb stops and the remaining issues involving condos or apartments with multiple accounts, seasonal meters, sold properties or similar issues, the document said.
Neptune plans to install 216 remote shut-off meters at locations identified as “high-turnover properties or sites with previously identified issues,” the report continued. Meanwhile, the city will install 13 shut-off devices this spring and perform 90-day field trials on those meters to “confirm processes and ensure proper operation before further installations.”
The report added that city hall plans to spend $1.149 million this year to finish the project.
Bevan Harlton, director of operations, told council that Neptune had planned to install the shut-off devices this summer, but faced problems commissioning the new technology. So, the operations department is “bench testing” two devices to determine their effectiveness, and if those tests are successful, it will help install the remaining devices this fall.
Coun. Jamey Logan inquired about the 28 “hard refusal” locations and whether people were “going down the rabbit hole about health concerns” with the wireless technology.
Harlton said he didn’t know what the actual reasons were but thought the health concerns “to be the case.” He noted that no Canadian municipality that uses smart water meters had reported any health risks, therefore, he didn’t “see any avenue for an exemption.”
Coun. Heather Eby asked whether city hall had received any complaints about higher meter readings after the new devices were installed.
Harlton replied that no one had complained recently, although during the initial installation, there were “a number of people” who said their consumption estimates were higher than normal. However, “most were happy and relieved” to receive actual readings, which alleviated their concerns.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, April 7.
