By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: May 8, 2014
All along, District of Squamish has made us believe that water leakage is high in Squamish because of our aging infrastructure.
It even did a report in 2010 that said 86 per cent of Squamish’s underground pipes are leaking.
But now, a new district report is revising its earlier position and shifting the responsibility of the water loss on the consumer.
In a recent report, this is how the district has revised its statement. [manual_related_posts]
“It was thought that a portion of the district’s high water consumption was due to leaking infrastructure.”
“However, through subsequent analysis, it is thought that the water consumption issue is related to high outdoor water usage during the summer months.”
District spokesperson Christina Moore said Squamish has seen water usage spike from 7,000,000 litres a day to 16,000,000 litres a day.
She said the district doesn’t want to downplay the leakage aspect, but the outdoor usage is a ‘very significant’ factor.
“High usage in the summer is taxing our system the most and is driving the need to develop additional water system capacity,” she said.
In 2010, water use per capita in Squamish was 35 per cent higher on average than the rest of Canada.
The national average, for instance, was 510 litres per person per day, while an average person in Squamish was using 688 litres per day.
As mentioned above, the district now seems to think it’s because of high outdoor water use, but with water leakage also a factor.
The district claims it was able to reduce the water consumption by 11 per cent despite a growing population, but summer months pose a challenge.
Lack of a water metering program, however, means the district can’t precisely quantify how much water is leaked.
And the district says the exact quantity of leakage can’t be assessed due to lack of a metering program.
District has toyed with the idea of installing water meters, but capital and operating costs can be quite high.
There are some industrial and commercial businesses that have water meters installed, but to have universal water metering would cost $8.9 million spread over five years.
The annual operating cost would be $700,000 to operate such a water metering system. It amounts to $1100 per user, not including financing costs.
Michael Kanka says
To me it seems that the District of Squamish is looking for a new tactic to further increase the utility bill. After five years with an additional charge on top of the utility bill (2011 15%, 2012 10%, 2013 15%, 2014 10%, and for 2015 10%) they start early to make us residents feel guilty and the really like the idea to add a metering system (additional jobs for the district and at least one more manager, not to forget the consulting), therefore I will not be surprised if after the last instalment of the additional 10% in 2015 we will see another “financial plan” coming, starting 2016, to get even more money out of our pockets with a new additional charge to finance a metering system. What really concerns me is that just a handful of residents seem to be aware that Squamish is on the path to become extremely expensive in property tax and utility, which on the long run has an influence to the property value, which consequently will raise taxes and fees even further (to keep the Districts income flow steady at declining property values – guess what).
Susan Millar says
Yes Michael it certainly looks like that to me too.
“In 2010, water use per capita in Squamish was 35 per cent higher on average than the rest of Canada.” Something is clearly wrong if this is true and I don’t believe it is simply that we use more water, it would indicate that there is considerable leakage. I own a 643 Sq Ft condo and my $840.50 utility bill makes me livid.
Dave says
Here are some questions which I hope someone in the know may be able to answer:
1. Is all the water used for firefighting taken from the same source as the purified household water?
2. Given that the golf course takes its irrigation water from a separate non-potable source and seems to be unrestricted, could not the fire department have its source from a similar direct river source etc. wherever practical? The reason I bring this up is because I perceive that the DOS is primarily concerned with water pressure for emergency use which can be problematic in the summer months and not so much with the general flow. I have never not been able to get a drink of water from my tap or not be able to have a shower. And if my house were burning down I would forgo the drink and the shower. Could there not be a large tank/reservoir in any subdivision dedicated for the sole use of the fire Dept?….House fires do not occur every day but when they do there MUST be a good source of water at pressure.
3. If water is really a critical issue then why are we still even considering developing condos and generally expanding our residential base? In the light of this, developments like G.A.S., and other mega projects should not even be put on the board in the 1stt. place. BUT they are.
Let’s have some real co-ordination mixed with some sensible foresight!
Hugh Kerr says
We need to be careful interpreting these numbers. One thousand liters equals one cubic meter, so 16 million liters per day is 16 thousand cubic meters. If there are 5000 households in Squamish, some have no lawn (apartments) some do not water (many renters). If there are say 2000 people watering, they on average use 8 cubic meters. If their yard is 20 meters by 20 meters, they are putting 8 / 400 meters of water on, i.e. 20 mm, 2 cm or almost an inch. No wonder water usage needs to be limited.
Don Patrick says
Maybe time to explain the system… not all of us are part of the design phase. So if no one uses water during a 24 hour period, what happens ? assume the reservoirs and pipes fill to capacity and the balance bypasses the system and into Howe Sound….what have we gained ? Now if we all use this massive amount of stored and moving water, none makes it to the sound… oh, but not all of the water is going into the system, so it just by passes and goes into the sound. Now from my knowledge, unless you are making another compound using water, still water remains as still water and moves to the lowest point in the system, again the Sound,,,, oh but we have evaporation which always returns… usually when it rains. Even water used in our sewage system returns eventually as rain, leaving the contaminates in our sediment system, but the still water returns as a drinkable commodity…. so where and when does this shortage occur ? if it is based on how much still water will be required during a massive fire event then maybe we should store water in various storage tanks around the district for those non-stated emergency situations or is this just another study draining our coffers. And yes I am aware that the fish must be looked after also, but no one seems to be saying that in all this banter. I personally would like to know the reasoning and necessity for the actual restriction of water usage, is it too much development or maybe too small pipes in the infrastructure or not enough loops and storage capacity ? or maybe not enough rain !!
heather gee says
I wonder why the Municipality has not compared Squamish’s water usage with a town of similar size; A town with somewhat similar weather conditions.
Susan Millar says
Great question Heather! I think they need to do this!
Dave says
Thank you Don. You have said it well. I must admit that I did already know what you have so eloquently explained but you have made it much clearer.
When the water stops flowing out of my tap, I will turn it off and wait till it is likely to flow again and so will everyone else. Its called supply and demand, demand and supply.
Like both of us said and I quote you….:”We should store water in various storage tanks around the district for those non-stated emergency situations or is this just another study draining our coffers?”.
Susan Millar says
“There are some industrial and commercial businesses that have water meters installed, but to have universal water metering would cost $8.9 million spread over five years. The annual operating cost would be $700,000 to operate such a water metering system. It amounts to $1100 per user, not including financing costs.”
Until we can afford to have meters installed I have suggested to the council and in a letter to the Squamish Reporter in the past that we adopt the billing method based on property values outlined in “FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OF MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEMS IN ONTARIO” -Pricing Structures: ”The easiest pricing structure to support is the Property Assessment structure. As municipalities undertake the process of calculating property tax bills and the collection process for their general services, the incorporation of the water costs into this calculation would have virtually no impact on the administrative process and structure.”