Water Meters

In the summer of 2008, assisted by grants from the Federal government, organized through the RDCK, water meters were installed in each residence in the subdivision. For all of 2009, residents were sent a "statement" showing how much water they were using and what it "might" cost, based on a proposed rate structure. At the AGM in the fall of 2009, the Society considered and approved a consumption-based water tariff to replace the flat-rate annual charge. Our utility was one of the first in the Kootenays to do this.

A description of the whole process is found on our blog.

The water meters are two versions of the same type - Neptune T10 (5/8" - 3/4")

• Inside meters are of the standard type, wired to an external touchpad
• Outside meters are located in underground, insulated vaults and are T10 "pit meters" with permanently wired external touchpad, waterproof meter head and enhanced corrosion protection.

Meters were originally purchased from AccuFlo Meter Service in Calgary. There is also a dealer in Kelowna.

The Kelowna supplier is: Fred Surridge Ltd., 1245 Industrial Rd., Kelowna, BC. Phone number is 1-877-769-9000.

After 10 years of service, our experience has shown the meters to be quite reliable, but we have had one part that has broken in a small number of units. The part is a small, white, plastic "T" shaped item that connects the rotating metering chamber to a magnet that drives the volume recording unit on top of the meter. This plastic "T" has broken in several cases. That part is not available. There are several options too fix this:

• 1) find a replacement chamber online that will fit a pre-2011 T10 meter... These are available on eBay for about US$25. It's possible that our local supplier will have some of the older style in stock. Be aware that these "older" chambers will have the same weak point that we have been dealing with up to now.
• 2) order part number 9400-605 which is the chamber complete for the pre-2011 meters but is manufactured differently to make it more robust.... Neptune no longer makes the old style chambers
• 3) Order the newer T-10 meters manufactured after 2011, sometimes referred to as the "Next-10"
• 4) Order a newer, more expensive, all electronic meter, referred to as the "Mach-10". This has an internal battery that will last 20 years, after which time the whole meter will need to be replaced. These meters can be read with our handheld reader device but the meters have additional digits and would need to be ordered without the radio since we use a direct connection touchpad.

NOTE: T-10 meter parts lists and diagrams are available here.

Meters are read using a hand-held device, a Neptune Pocket ProReader. The replacement battery sells from Fred Surridge in Kelowna for about $180. A more reasonably-priced alternative can be ordered here: https://www.batteriesdirect.com/product/details/specialty-batteries/schlumberger/11992-101. The original part number is 11992-101 and contains 3 NiCd cells rated at 940 mAh each, wired to provide 3.6 volts. Each cell has p/n 416086-101. Cost is about USD 30 and probably would need to be picked up in the USA.

During meter installation, several types of piping were encountered, from Poly B, 3/4" copper, municipal service, etc. Some meters with restricted access were installed using "Sharkbite" connectors. Specifications and installation instructions are available online if needed. These instructions are also useful if a connector must be removed for any reason.