Calgary's plan to tackle hefty water bills will cost all users

Giving Calgarians a break after they were hit with an unexpected hefty water bill is projected to cost the city $1.5 million a year.

Last fall, the city shifted its policy from demanding payment to one of forgiveness after hundreds of complaints came in from water customers.

Often, they couldn't explain why their water consumption had gone up dramatically and the city was adamant its water meters weren't the problem.

It meant that even if the bill was adjusted, the customer still had to pay up.

Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart convinced council to call for a review of the situation.

Undetected leaks biggest source

The utilities and corporate services committee heard Wednesday that in most cases, undetected leaks were behind the increases in water consumption.

In only a few cases, the higher consumption was unexplained.

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But in a separate independent review, the city has learned that its water meters are not part of the problem.

That report found that the type of water meters used by the city are proven technology and are considered "extremely accurate."

In short, meter failure or malfunction was not found to be behind any of the hundreds of cases of high water consumption.

Colley-Urquhart said she's pleased with the results of the review and the city's policy change to cover the cost of bills related to high consumption.

"I'm more than happy with this and I think that it's something that we should continue to look at and refund wherever we can," said the veteran councillor.

Policy change comes with a price

Officials with the city's water resources estimates it will cost $1.5 million a year in revenue as the water is still being used.

The manager of customer and strategic services with water resources, Shannon Abbott, said that cost will be passed on to all water customers.

"That would equate to about 30 cents, 30-40 cents a month on a customer's bill in terms of recovering it through rates going forward," she said.

That would likely start taking effect in 2019 although the decision would actually rest on approval of the upcoming four-year city budget plan.

Rob Spackman with water resources said forgiving the high water bills is part of a new culture at the city.

"We're on a journey of what it means to be a more customer-focused organization," said Spackman.

"It requires a shift in our mindset and a shift in our culture in how we work with our customers."

City inspections cost $600

The city will help customers trouble-shoot the source of their increased water consumption at no cost to them.

Technicians will check the water meter and inspect water fixtures and appliances through the customer's house as well as provide advice.

Spackman said each one of these inspections costs up to $600.

In the final three months of 2017, the city conducted 160 high consumption inspections.In all but a few cases, the source of the problem was detected.

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