When the next municipal water bills are sent out in early February, water consumption will be charged based on a metered rate.
The change in billing is a departure from the flat rate water billing Summerland has used in the past.
Lorrie Coates, director of finance for the municipality, said the new bills will begin with a $24 charge for the water service and a fee of 26 cents for each cubic metre, to the first 25 cubic metres or 25,000 litres. Additional water consumption is $1 for each cubic metre.
These fees are charged after the early payment discount.
Most residents will not reach 25 cubic metres of water consumption during non-irrigation months, Coates said. As a result, the costs of inside water use will be smaller than under the flat rate system.
“During the non-irrigation months, most bills are going to be lower,” she said.
At present, most homes in Summerland have the meters in place, but a few property owners — fewer than 20 — have insisted on a meter installed outside of their homes.
Coates said these pit meters should all be installed by the end of January.
In addition, some non-farm properties have two water services, one for domestic use and one for irrigation use.
The domestic lines are already metered, but the method of dealing with the second lines is still under consideration.
The switch from a flat rate water meter charge to a metering system took more than five years as the previous municipal councils and members of municipal staff sought to create as fair a system as possible.
“The intent was to be as close to revenue neutral as we could get it,” Coates said.
For the past year, Summerlanders have received mock bills to show how much water they have been using each month.