Meter Project Community Meeting Oct 9 2025
Meter Project Community Meeting Notes
Oct 9, 2025, 6.30 pm at the Legion
Attendees: 7 public, and
Trustees: Ron Smith (Chair), John Colongard, Jennifer Moore
Employees: Joseph Scott (Project Leader), Marianne Segers (Water Operator), Sandra Haszard (Administrator)
Joseph led with Trustee and employee introductions and a recap:
4 Requests for Proposals issued on Sep 5 via PR Peak, BC Bid, local signs.
- RFP 2025-01 Site Works – install Meter Setters
- RFP 2025-02 Meters and Software – supply Water Meters & Advanced Metering Infrastructure
- RFP 2025-03 Fenced Enclosure
- RFP 2025-04 Aggregate Bins
Submissions were received in several ways – by email, on paper to the office, and through BC Bid.
Evaluation Committee was Ron Smith, John Colongard, Joseph Scott, Marianne Segers, and Sandra Haszard. Discussion took place at two meetings held at the Fire Hall on Sat & Sun Aug 30 & 31 from 1-3 pm.
Both RFP 3 & 4 had only one submission and further action was required to determine how to proceed.
- RFP 3 – Fence – proposal amount and other quoted amounts were around $25,000. After further investigation, it was decided this was not good value and to buy a storage container (Seacan) instead, for $6,000
- RFP 4 – Aggregate Bins – after inquiries were made to other providers and shippers, this proposal was accepted.
The remaining proposals were evaluated using weighted criteria with the following results:
Contracts have been entered into with Davis Ventures for RFP 1 & 4, and Flow Systems for RFP 3.
Flow Systems will provide meters manufactured by Neptune, a company established in the 1890s that has specialized in automatic meter reading (AMR) technology for more than 50 years.
Q: Will meters be installed in line or in house?
A: In meter pit (buried concrete box with metal lid at ground level), as close to property line as possible.
Employees have located all but 20 of the 234 water connections and unfound process is part of contract. Some connections will be moved closer to the property line but change of location is not always feasible.
Q: My connection box supplies 3 different properties – how will this be handled?
A: Planned is a new service line on Copper Queen with separate connections to each property so connections are not piggybacking across properties. Contractor is investigating ground conditions for this new line. If the new service line cannot be installed, new connection boxes will be installed so each service has its own box and meter.
All costs are covered by government grant.
Setter installation work starts in about 2 weeks.
Aggregate bins have been built and $1,000 worth of sand reclaimed from that area.
Contractor is getting vacuum truck – easier to work with and less damage in locating lines.
Overview of meter data collection: Once service connections have meter setters installed in pits, meters will be put in place. Meter has a sending unit connected to a flat antenna that sits on the metal box lid. Hourly data is transmitted through the cellular network to Flow System’s servers located remotely. Sending the data requires less power than phone calls so meters in areas that have poor cell reception can still transmit. Data will be periodically downloaded by VAID for billing. Customers will be able to access their own usages online or with use of an app on their device. Notifications can be set for usage levels, leaks, etc. Software can determine if leak or regular water use.
Q: What if a leak starts while metering is in place?
A: If the system detects a leak, both the customer and VAID are notified. A VAID employee will contact the owner to ensure they are aware of the leak. If leak cannot be fixed and charges accumulate, the owner can meet with Trustees to discuss. Some water providers allow customers to apply for leak forgiveness. VAID’s procedures are still to be determined. Information on how other places deal with this will be provided to VAID via the project support team that Sandra and Joseph meet with regularly.
Q: Will Wall St properties be metered too?
A: Yes, all water connections will be metered.
A resident from Wall Street was asked whether they had noticed an improvement in water pressure, and they confirmed that they had. The recent upgrades to the Wall Street pumphouse were discussed, including the installation of new pressure tanks and the replacement of old piping. Upcoming work will include adding a quick-switch connection to a backup pump, and plans are in place to install a generator to ensure continued operation during power outages.
Q: What will the billing look like?
A: There will still be an annual Parcel Tax – this covers the cost of infrastructure. The Water Tolls will change to Invoices based on use. Frequency of billing is to be determined – it may be annual or quarterly. We will get input from others who have switched over to determine the best way to proceed.
Q: Is there a power supply to the meter?
A: Power is supplied by a built in battery which has an expected life span of 20 years.
Q: When will the project be complete?
A: Funding requires completion by March 2027. We expect to have all meters in place by March 2026 so will still have access to the funding if needed for changes.
Water scarcity is a consideration for VAID – there are plans to extend the water intake line to a deeper part of Priest Lake. Current intake location is fairly shallow. Deepening the intake will improve the quality of the raw water so cut down on water treatment costs.
Administration will create a list of people who are not able to access their information online and will contact them directly if a situation arises that requires their attention.
VAID had anticipated more public concern regarding the Universal Metering project; however, very few negative comments have been received. Most of the feedback from residents has focused instead on the perceived unfairness of the current flat toll system.
VAID is working to improve communication with the community and enhance record keeping. Much of the work completed in the past was handled on an ad hoc basis and not consistently documented.
More info: