Council to consider grant application for water meters

Merritt City Council will debate tonight the proposal of applying for a grant to install water meters throughout the community.

“Merritt has implemented water conservation efforts since the early 1990s. Water conservation efforts consist of public education, public awareness and restriction of water use during peak summer water demand months,” wrote Charlie Henderson, Director of Public Works.

“Water conservation efforts led to a 43% decline in average water consumption per person from 2006 to 2019. Despite these efforts, average water consumption for City in 2019 was 742 litres/person/day which is significantly higher than the provincial (503 litres/person/day) and national (427 litres/person/day) averages,” added Henderson.

Implementing a water metering program in Merritt will cost approximately $3,526,814 with 73.33% of costs being eligible for the grant.

“The program is 73.33% grant funded. The financial commitment of 26.67% from the City in applying equates to $940,601.29,” confirmed Henderson.

City Council will debate the proposal during the regular council meeting this evening starting at 6pm.