Currently, water meters that measure the usage of water in the City of Vancouver are required for all newly-built single-family houses and dual-family houses, as well as existing residences that are being renovated or rebuilt.
But now, the municipal government is set to consider expanding water meter equipment requirements to more existing properties.
A new member motion proposed by Vancouver city councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung of the ABC party directs City staff to explore reducing water usage and increase the installation of water meters, including for existing single-family houses, multi-family houses, mixed-use strata and commercial buildings.
If the motion is approved next week, City staff will report back by the end of April 2025 on the potential timelines, an analysis of the installation cost and financial benefits to the municipal government and residents, and the “opportunities to encourage adoption” of such equipment.
This means more Vancouver residents and businesses would pay for the volume of water they actually use, eliminating flat-rate billing.
“Affordability and rapidly increasing utility costs continue to plague residents. With water metering, the philosophy is that you only pay for what you use, and when you pay for it, people are more conscious of how much they consume,” reads the motion.
“Water meters are a fair and equitable way of charging residents for water and will reduce the overall water consumption throughout the city. Water metering encourages conservation by giving residents and businesses direct feedback on their consumption, which leads to a reduction in overall water demand.”
According to Kirby-Yung, reducing water usage among households and businesses could slow down the municipal government’s pace of continually expanding water infrastructure capacity. Additionally, it could decrease the volume of bulk water the municipal government purchases from the Metro Vancouver Regional District, with the City’s water systems designed to handle 2.5 times more than the baseline/normal usage.
Currently, the City’s annual operating costs includes over $100 million for the purchase of bulk water, with this expenditure rising from $100.3 million in 2024 to $107.5 million in 2025.
Other municipal governments already have broader water meter requirements, including West Vancouver, Surrey, Langley, and Richmond, which required all single-family houses to be metered since 2018.
As well, in December 2024, Burnaby City Council approved a new policy to require water meters for all existing single-family houses and dual-family houses.
The City of Burnaby will begin to shift to the pay-for-use water billing model starting in 2027, with the municipal government estimating it will spend approximately $24 million from 2025 to 2027 to the install water meters for about 13,000 existing residential properties — based on the estimated cost of $1,000 for water meters for each single-family house and dual-family house, and $2,500 per home with secondary suites.
Tens of thousands of other existing single-family house and dual-family house properties in Burnaby will see their water meters installed from 2028 to 2037.
Since July 2024, the City of Burnaby has required all new single-family houses and apartment and commercial buildings to install water meters as a part of the construction process. Existing mixed-use strata and commercial buildings could see the installation of water meters starting before the end of this decade.