City council for Courtenay, B.C., has approved a phased rollout of residential water metering following a comprehensive business case that found current flat-rate billing is driving inequities, rising demand and growing strain on local infrastructure.
The decision marks a shift toward a consumption-based system, beginning with approximately 2,500 homes already equipped for meters and expanding gradually to all residential properties.
A study, presented to council in its final phase in March, concludes that household water use is the primary driver of seasonal peak demand, with summer consumption nearly double winter levels. That surge has intensified beyond what population growth alone would explain, pointing to behavioural factors such as outdoor irrigation.
“These reports are designed to help council understand what’s going on with our water system, whether there’s a financially responsible way to respond, and whether we can fund something like this responsibly over time,” Kyle Shaw, director of Courtenay’s operational services, told council at the March 25 meeting.
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At present, most single-family homes in Courtenay remain unmetered and pay a flat fee regardless of usage. According to the report, that model results in an estimated $1.7 million in annual cross-subsidization, with metered users effectively offsetting the costs of higher-consuming, unmetered households.
City staff flagged the issue as both a financial and equity concern, noting that the largest customer class — single-residential properties — accounts for more than 80% of unmetered consumption while remaining largely invisible from a tracking and pricing standpoint.
Typical households could see modest changes to their bills depending on consumption, with city staff estimating average users would pay about $555 annually under metering, compared to the current flat rate of $624, while high-use households could pay significantly more.
The business case evaluated several implementation models, including voluntary metering, metering for new construction only, and maintaining the status quo. A universal approach emerged as the strongest option over the long term, offering the highest financial return, improved fairness under a user-pay system, and alignment with regional conservation targets.
It is also the only option that fully supports the city’s 2019 Water Smart Action Plan and broader planning frameworks aimed at reducing water use and limiting reliance on bulk water purchases from the Comox Valley Regional District.
Although institutional, commercial, industrial and multi-residential customer classes are largely metered, only 1% of single-residential properties are currently equipped with a water meter.
Courtenay’s water system currently serves a population of just over 30,700 residents, with total consumption reaching approximately 6.6 million m³ in 2025.
