Report links conservation with user fees
Vancouver, Tofino and Gibsons receive positive reviews for their rate policies
Many municipalities in Canada, including some in Metro Vancouver, could do a better job of charging user fees for municipal water to cover costs and encourage conservation, according to a new report from the Ecofiscal Commission.
The document, released Tuesday, contains recommendations and best practices aimed at improving the financial and environmental sustainability, as well as the fairness, of municipal water and waste water systems.
“We have a disparity of rate structures across the region and that makes it challenging for governments to plan in terms of making sure they have enough money to make the investments that make our systems whole,” said Nancy Olewiler, a commissioner with Ecofiscal and professor at Simon Fraser University’s School of Public Policy.
She hopes the report will help spark discussion on water and waste water in the region.
Metro Vancouver is a wholesaler of treated drinking water to most of its member municipalities — White Rock, Bowen Island and Lions Bay are exceptions. It builds and maintains treatment plants and reservoirs and builds the infrastructure to get the water to the different municipalities. The connection to each municipality is metered and Metro charges a twotier, per-cubic-metre rate that is higher in the summer.
Inder Singh, Metro’s director of policy planning and analysis for water services, said the rate is based on what it costs Metro to maintain infrastructure and make capital investments.
“We as a region, we’re a partnership, so Metro Vancouver is responsible for making sure we have adequate supplies available to the end customers of the member municipalities,” said Singh.
The municipalities are then responsible for charging their residents for water and sewer services and maintaining their own infrastructure.
Singh described Metro Vancouver as “a mixed bag ” when it comes to charging for water. He said virtually all commercial, industrial and institutional buildings are metered, but there is variation when it comes to residential properties.
For instance, the District of North Vancouver, where Olewiler lives, charges a flat rate for all residents, while Vancouver mandates meters in all new or renovated homes and charges a two-tier, perunit rate for water that is higher during summer months.
There is similar variation in the way municipalities charge for waste water.
One of the best practices outlined in the report is installing water meters for all residential and commercial users, and one recommendation is for municipalities to rely on multi-rate user fees to recover costs and encourage conservation.
Olewiler is an advocate for water and sewer meters, because she believes charging according to usage helps municipalities make sure they have enough revenue to pay for infrastructure, is fairer, and shows people what they are actually using, which encourages conservation. While they can be expensive to install up front, the benefits outweigh that cost in the long run, she said.
“You can pay now or you can pay later. The longer you wait, the more you’re going to pay,” she said.
The report also says that not every best practice or recommendation will work for every community. “It’s, I think, a very positive report. It highlights areas of challenge but shows creativity and what different municipalities have done to address issues,” said Olewiler, pointing out that Tofino, Vancouver and Gibsons are mentioned positively in the report.
Singh said metering has come up often over the years and Metro is looking at residential water metering from a regional perspective. It will have a report ready early next year for municipal councils to look at when making decisions about metering in their communities.
He emphasized that Metro is not issuing a directive, but simply providing information and best practices.
You can pay now or you can pay later. The longer you wait, the more you’re going to pay.