Mapleton has received a provincial grant for water meters, the Minister of Environment announced at the municipal office on June 7.
John Wilkinson, also MPP for Perth-Wellington, presented a cheque for $439,000 to Mayor Bruce Whale to help pay for the metres for those connected to the water system in Drayton and Moorefield.
The grant is from the Ontario Small Waterworks Assistance Program.
“My rural constituents want to live in a community where clean, safe drinking water is not wasted – and only pay for the water they actually use,” said Wilkinson.
“But to make that happen in rural communities like Mapleton we need the province to be a fiscal partner. That is why the provincial grant is so important to people.”
He said in front of staff gathered in the council chamber, “It’s important that people know how much they are using. Those who use it pay for it. It’s a system that is fair.”
Whale said, “It’s nice to have a meeting like this. We’ve been trying to find a way [to afford the water meters] for five years now. We couldn’t because of the burden on the taxpayers.
“It’s important to be able to give people an opportunity to manage this resource on their own property.”
Mapleton is already spending nearly $1.6-million to expand its sewage treatment facility (with a provincial grant for that of about $1-million), not including a debenture for purchasing the land. Those on the sewer system will have to pay those extra costs.
Whale said the latest grant will ensure users are not paying extra for the water meters.
The total cost to install the meters is $646,700.
Clerk Patty Sinnamon said in an interview the cost for meters in Drayton, over and above the grant, will be $166,000, and in Moorefield it will be $41,700. However, the township has already set that money aside in reserves.
Studies across Ontario have demonstrated that when people know they are paying for the water they use, they are more likely to take steps to conserve it and not waste it.
Whale said, “This project will help to reduce water consumption in our municipality and property owners will benefit by paying for only the water they use.”
Wilkinson made the announcement on behalf of Minister of Infrastructure Bob Chiarelli, who said in a press release, “Protecting our most precious resource remains a top priority. Ontario is committed to protecting our water through modern infrastructure so that our children, our grandchildren and great grandchildren continue to have access.”
Whale said in an interview there is still some work for council to do before the meters are installed. He noted council had received requests from some residents who wanted meters and, “Now we can treat everyone in the same fair manner.”
Whale said council has done some preliminary work but will still have to decide the types of meters to install, and how to read them. There are a wide variety of methods to read meters, he said, from individual checks, to having them read from a tower or having them read by someone with the electronic capability to simply drive down a street and collect the data automatically.
He added he hopes they can be installed this fall.
Whale said the grant was particularly welcome this year, since those on the sewage system are already facing extra costs for the lagoon expansion.
The water meter project was contingent upon receiving a grant, and the township had applied for it earlier this year. This is the third phase of that particular program to help rural areas in southern Ontario and also for northern Ontario.
The province has been working to improve its water systems and safety since 2000, when the Walkerton water tragedy occurred. Contaminated municipal water there killed seven people and made nearly 2,000 more sick. The province recently wrapped up the majority of those compensation cases at a cost of over $70-million.
Justice Dennis O’Connor’s investigation into that tragedy made more than 120 recommendations on water treatment and safety.
The provincial government implemented every one of the recommendations, which left Ontario with the highest standards for drinking water in North America.
In total, the province will provide $50-million over four years to support water and wastewater improvements in small communities.
Across the province, the clean water industry employs 22,000 and generates $1.8-billion in sales.
