50,000 Water Meters to be Changed in Regina
Over the next two years, BCG will replace 50,000 water meters that are older than 10 years with new ones and furnish all 58,000 local meters with devices that can be read by a mobile machine as it travels through each neighborhood. This will eventually eliminate the need for a fleet of meter readers.
Spokespeople for Canadian Water Services (CWS), an unsuccessful bidder from London, Ont., wondered why their bid was rejected when, they argued, their product was more appropriate for the job and came in at $1.4 million below BCG's price.
That convinced Coun. Bill Hutchinson, the lone councilor who voted against awarding the job to BCG. Faced with a mountain of contradictory technical data, Hutchinson admitted he looked to the price difference -- and was swayed.
"There are a number of technical issues that probably could be argued both ways. I'm not an expert ... but I can certainly read a tender price."
Hutchinson lobbied the council to make the price tag the deciding factor. Instead, the other councilors agreed with the city's selection committee that chose BCG as superior in design and performance. "We probably have the best recommendation (in BCG). I'm encouraging council to accept it," Coun. Bill Wells said.
A team of CWS proponents told council their meters are more accurate and less noisy than BCG's meters.
They also argued the greater signal strength in the BCG meters reduces the lifetime of the batteries, requiring more frequent replacement.
"Our batteries will last over 20 years," Jack Robertson said.
"But you didn't put that in your tender information," Wells countered.
A member of BCG's delegation told council their batteries are fully replaceable under warranty for 10 years, with replacement pro-rated over the next 10 years.
About 50,000 residential water meters that are at least 10-years-old will be replaced.
The project also calls for the installation of an automated meter reading system for all 58,000 water meters in the city. The project will be funded out of the city's existing utility capital budget that is financed through utility rates, and a federal-provincial infrastructure program.
City officials have said the capital cost of the project will not require any new money from taxpayers, although water users may see a rise in their water bills as the new equipment is more accurate at recording "low-flow" water use that older meters often miss.
Source: The Regina Leader-Post