Water use - are smart meters making a difference?

NEWS RELEASE

GREEN MUNICIPAL FUND

CITY OF SAULT STE  MARIE

************************

FCM’s Green Municipal Fund supports the City of Sault Ste. Marie in testing the impact of smart meters on residential water consumption

SAULT STE. MARIE, ON (February 27, 2012) – Berry Vrbanovic, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and councillor for the City of Kitchener, Ontario, and Bryan Hayes, Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie, today announced a Green Municipal FundTM (GMF) grant for the City of Sault Ste. Marie.

The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and the City will put the $101,470 in funding toward testing the impact of smart meters on residential water consumption patterns and conservation attitudes.

“FCM’s Green Municipal Fund offers a range of resources and services that specifically address the sustainable community development needs of municipal governments,” said Vrbanovic. “The financing and knowledge provided by the fund supports the development of communities that are more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.”

“The Government of Canada is assisting municipalities across the country in achieving their goal of a cleaner and healthier environment for Canadians through the Green Municipal Fund,” said Mr. Hayes. “Today’s announcement is another example of how our government - in partnership with FCM - is helping Sault Ste. Marie build a greener future for our citizens.”

Unless usage can be reduced, water consumption in Sault Ste. Marie is expected to increase by 20 percent within the next 20 to 30 years.

A field test involving 500 smart meters in randomly selected residences will provide data on water use patterns and help the City to design, deliver and measure the effectiveness of water conservation programs.

The initiative will determine whether smart water meters can effectively promote water conservation.

Surveys of the participants at the beginning and end of the project will identify changes in water use patterns and attitudes towards water conservation.

Smart water meters are not yet widely used in municipal water systems, but they can reduce water use, energy consumption, chemical use and waste production.

With reduced water consumption, Sault Ste. Marie’s PUC hopes to delay building additional water treatment capacity for at least 20 years.

“The City of Sault Ste. Marie values the wise use of our resources to support an environmentally sustainable community,” said Mayor Debbie Amaroso. “Funds provided through the FCM Green Municipal Fund further the City’s commitment to developing innovative solutions for water conservation.”

The Government of Canada endowed the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) with $550 million to establish the Green Municipal Fund.

The Fund supports partnerships and leveraging of both public and private-sector funding to reach higher standards of air, water and soil quality, and climate protection.

FCM has been the national voice of municipal governments since 1901.

It fosters the development of sustainable communities to improve quality of life by promoting strong, effective, and accountable municipal government.

*************************