Many Castlegar residents are missing a golden opportunity of having a water meter installed for no cost on their properties, said Mayor Laurence Chernoff.
Chernoff told city council on August 15 the installation of water meters is a great opportunity for people to be able to save money on their water bills.
"We have a contractor in place to install water meters," said the Mayor.
"So what's happening is he's going door to door and people are saying, 'while, I don't want a water meter,' and really there's not a choice here - the choice is If you don't install the meter, you will go on the flat rate – probably a lot more than the metered rate," continued Chernoff in an interview with the News.
"We're trying to install as many meters here as we can."
The contractor started installing meters two weeks ago and is hoping to install six per day. The City of Castlegar is hoping to have 400 meters installed this summer.
"We're not trying to be pushy here but we have a contract in place and he's trying to install as many meters as he can," stressed Chernoff. "If he goes to a house and can't install a meter it makes it a lot more difficult to get the job done."
The installation of water meters in the City is expected to help with water conservation.
"We're way above the average [in water consumption]," His Worship stated.
"It's not cheap to treat water. You have to treat it twice. You treat it when you deliver water and you treat it when it's sewage. We're looking at how we can improve it. When meters are installed people have a tendency to reduce water usage. That's what we're looking at. We're just trying to make it better for the community."
The goal for the overall water meter program is to have every residential property in Castlegar equipped with a water meter in three years.
"You need to get your meter installed. We need to reach our goal," said Chernoff.