What Do Water Meters Sound Like?

All over BC, there are people who are not being heard.

People who are trying to say I don’t agree with the plan, I don’t want it, I don’t need it, I can’t afford it.

Whether it is water metering or a downtown revite, there is a sector of people who have no voice and are being forced.

A single Mom on the Island, never writing a letter to the editor before, does so, to say please don’t meter my water. She is hanging on by her teeth, doing everything she can just to keep her kids fed, clothed, in school and keep her house.

Another letter to the editor from a gentleman on the Island who asks – please, I don’t want a fancy town, why are you not making this a nice affordable town for people. Don’t spend and tax for a downtown revite. Living in the same house for 17 years now, his taxes have doubled. Never mind revite costs, he says those “routine” annual 2% increases in taxation are a real hardship for him. He points out his income has not changed in 17 years.

One poor fellow, moving to Kamloops, recently discovered that they now want to meter his water there. He just left a town that metered his water! When they metered him in his old town, he said, it started out OK, it was maybe even a bit cheaper for a while, but then it increased. By the time he left, the cost of his water had doubled.

Out for a walk in Lillooet, one couple meets another, locals but strangers to each other. A friendly chat ensues, revealing where they live, what they do and the like. A pleasant evening and chat ends on a sober note. The couple disclose they have to find a cheaper place to live because they can’t afford to live in Lillooet anymore. They have exceeded their financial threshold and can no longer afford to pay their taxes. They have no choice. If they could stay, metering would only harm them.

These are only a few of the people I have “heard”. Who knows how many others, just like them are out there! Some of your neighbours perhaps. A smaller paycheque and a smaller voice. Quietly suffering or quietly leaving. They might just be the “silenced” majority. Governments are forcing people beyond tolerance. Good citizens all, listen.

Perhaps it is the same in Lake Cowichan or other BC towns who plan “forced metering”, but in Lillooet, metering will not improve our environment or lives. Learning conservation does not start there. Listening to what citizens need and want, improves our lives and towns. Listening and learning is cheap, not doing so can be unaffordable.

C. Kjarsgaard