Our team at the POLIS Water Sustainability Project applauds the $50 million investment in water metering announced by the B.C. provincial government in May. Under this new pilot initiative, provincial funding will cover up to 100 per cent of eligible costs to purchase and install nearly 15,000 new automated meters in 19 small, rural, and First Nations communities across the province.
Members of the POLIS team helped catalyze this effort as part of the larger provincial watershed security program and provided specific strategic advice to the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs as it developed and scoped this project. Research conducted by POLIS in 2024 helped identify the communities in B.C. that remain unmetered. This enabled targeted outreach to eligible water service providers to select participants and get the program off the ground quickly.
POLIS research into metering rates shows that B.C. continues to remain far behind most comparable North American jurisdictions. Less than 50 per cent of single-family homes in B.C. are metered, compared to over 90 per cent of homes in Alberta, and nearly 100 per cent of homes in Washington State, Ontario, and Manitoba. While other jurisdictions move forward, uptake of this well-established technology in B.C. remains stubbornly stuck.
“The benefits of metering are many and varied,” said Kirk Stinchcombe, expert water conservation advisor to the POLIS Water Sustainability Project and consultant on the B.C. Water Metering Project administration team. “Once installed, meters can help reduce water demand by up to 30 per cent. That means more water stays in rivers and lakes to support ecosystems and for responding to wildfires, with less money spent on building new infrastructure.”
By providing accurate, real-time data on consumption, metering empowers households and businesses to monitor their usage, detect leaks early, and make informed decisions to reduce waste. It is also fairer because it enables charging for water use based on the amount used. People who conserve will no longer subsidize the wasteful habits of high-volume user. For utilities, it streamlines operations, helps identify and control system leaks, and enables better planning and infrastructure investment.
“This provincial investment is good news for B.C. residents and ecosystems – especially as drought and water scarcity increases. POLIS has long advocated for universal metering in the urban context as part of our broader efforts to advance watershed security,” said Oliver M. Brandes, Co-Director of the POLIS Project. “As B.C. grapples with increasing water scarcity and drought, we really need to deploy these kinds of established technologies and start catching up with our neighbours in other provinces and states.”
POLIS continues its work advocating for metering as part of its ongoing effort to promote the “soft path” to urban water sustainability. In the coming months, POLIS will release a Roadmap to Universal Metering in B.C. which will set out potential next steps for both the provincial government and local water service providers. It will also include case studies of communities that have already successfully implemented water metering programs.
Further Reading
New water-monitoring program could save 1.5 billion litres a year (BC Gov News, May 2025)
Water Conservation Guide For British Columbia (POLIS, BC Ministry of Community, Sport & Cultural Development, Okanagan Basin Water Board, Dec 2013)
The Soft Path for Water in a Nutshell (POLIS, Sept 2007)
