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 Measurement Canada
Sector Review
Water
Consultation
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Water Trade Sector Review Minutes - Vancouver
To access any of the PDF documents included in this page, please use this free Adobe Acrobat Reader as needed.
Comments and Discussions: Stakeholders asked if Measurement Canada has any plans to enact a Water Meter Act. Mr. Johnston explained that there is no plans to create a Water Meter Act. He believes that any legislation required as a result of the Water Trade Sector Review should be able to be accommodated in the Weights and Measures Act and Regulations or by establishing specifications for water meters. A stakeholder (consumer representative) wanted to know if all residential water meters in Canada are positive displacement. Other stakeholders explained that the vast majority of domestic water meters in Canada are positive displacement, but single-jet and multi-jet meters are available. Another stakeholder asked what process Measurement Canada has in place for handling water meter disputes. Mr. Welsh explained that currently there are no limits of error (tolerances) for water meters in the Weights and Measures Act and Regulations and therefore Measurement Canada will not inspect these meters. Measurement Canada may still investigate water meter complaints but they are not done on a regular basis. Questions were asked as to why Measurement Canada was getting involved in this trade sector ? It was explained that the water trade sector is one of the thirty nine trade sectors in the Canadian Marketplace where trade measurement is found. Measurement Canada’s goal is to have conducted reviews in all of these trade sectors by the end of 2013. Five trade sector reviews have already been completed and two others will soon be finished. Examples of the recommendations from three of the completed sector reviews can be found in Appendix III of the Water Trade Sector Review discussion paper “Establishing an Appropriate Level of Measurement Canada Intervention in the Water Sector”. The Water Trade Sector Review process is expected to be completed by June 15, 2004. A stakeholder asked if the WTSR team had any data from Europe. What were the percentage of water meter used in those countries? Mr..Welsh replied that they did have not have specific information on this matter. He had contacted the United Kingdom but had not received a reply. He was able to get information on this matter from the USA and Australia: Item mandatory metering United States no Australia no Item % of water utilities with residential metering United States 90 % Australia 90 to 95 % Item noted exceptions to water metering United States Chicago and parts of Southern California Australia Hobart, Tasmania Item % of water utilities which are public United States 85 % Australia 100 % water, some wastewater treatment services have been privatized More information on Legal Metrology and water meter requirements in twenty eight European countries. It should be noted that this website does not indicate the percentage of water meter used in each country. The question was asked whether the review was about water trade or consumer water meters? Mr. Welsh replied that the review is about water meters in general. He then explained the scope of the review and the purpose of the consultation meetings. He explained that the scope of the review does not include the international trade of bulk Canadian water. The question was asked as to whether or not independent contractors are now doing MC’s job in the water trade sector? Mr. Welsh explaining that currently water meters are exempted from type approval and initial inspection and some utilities are presently testing water meters on a voluntary basis. These utilities are having their meters tested by their own staff or by 3rd party organizations. This testing is not done under any regulatory statutes. A stakeholder asked “Who owns the water meters? Is it the water utility or the customer? Are there private water companies?” The water utility stakeholders replied that customer billing water meters are almost always owned and maintained by the water utility. Currently there are not so many privately owned water utilities in Canada but their number is expected to increase. There will also probably be more privately operated water utilities in the future as municipal governments explore means of using Public-Private Partnerships to operate their water systems. A stakeholder asked if the WTSR team had any information on the cost of water in other areas of the world such as Asia or Europe. Update: City, Country Brisbane, Australia Basic Annual Service Charge for Domestic Meter 1 $100 Consumption Charge for Water Only (per cu. metre) 1 $0.80 City, Country Wellington, New Zealand Basic Annual Service Charge for Domestic Meter 1 $74 Consumption Charge for Water Only (per cu. metre) 1 $1.05 City, Country Singapore City, Singapore Basic Annual Service Charge for Domestic Meter 1 none shown Consumption Charge for Water Only (per cu. metre) 1 $0.93 City, Country South West Water, England Basic Annual Service Charge for Domestic Meter 1 $42 Consumption Charge for Water Only (per cu. metre) 1 $2.12 City, Country Durban, South Africa Basic Annual Service Charge for Domestic Meter 1 $96 Consumption Charge for Water Only (per cu. metre) 1 $1.16 2 City, Country Helsinki, Finland Basic Annual Service Charge for Domestic Meter 1 $285 Consumption Charge for Water Only (per cu. metre) 1 $0.70 Note 1: Expressed in Canadian dollars after conversion from local currencies. Water charge only, sewer charges can be very high in some of these locales. Note 2: Consumption charge doubles for consumption over 30 cubic meters per month Option consommateurs Presentation: The Option consommateurs presentation was delivered by Ms. Geneviève Reed:
Comments and Discussions: Questions were asked to Ms. Reed about the numbers of people interviewed in the Environics survey and whether or not they were asked questions about the cost of regulating water meters. Ms. Reed explained that consumers were selected by Environics Research Limited, a professional polling organization, and that a wide variety of Canadian citizens were interviewed. She explained that consumers were asked about the costs of regulation at the six focus group sessions. The focus group participants replied that they wanted a national standard for water meters established. They also did not want a system in place that would significantly raise the cost of their water services. Update: A copy of the Option consommateurs report on “ Should Residential Water Meter Accuracy be Regulated in Canada?” is available on the WTSR website. Discussions and Recommendations Recommendations: The following recommendations were derived through consensus. This implies that the vast majority of stakeholders who attended the meeting agreed with the stated recommendations. There may continue to be stakeholders who would have preferred a different recommendation. Recommendations from the previous meetings in Edmonton and Toronto were provided to the Vancouver participants. The recommendations in these minutes are from the Vancouver meeting only and they may not reflect the final recommendations that are sent to Measurement Canada’s Senior Management Committee. The final recommendations will be a compilation of the recommendations from all six (6) stakeholder consultation meetings. 1. Approvals Recommendation 1.1 Measurement Canada is to require that all customer billing or custody transfer water meters, used by water utilities, must be Type Approved (including updates and revisions) before they can be used in trade. This would apply at all levels of trade, provided it is not too onerous or costly. This recommendation is consistent with the Edmonton and Toronto meeting recommendations. Recommendation 1.2 The Type Approval process to include provisions for testing a prototype water meter to ensure that it meets the applicable standard. (See Update in Comments and Discussions section below). This recommendation is also consistent with the Edmonton and Toronto meeting recommendations. Recommendation 1.3 The Type Approval process is to only apply to new water meter prototypes that are submitted for approval after a certain date (to be determined). Existing water meter models used in trade will continue to be exempt from the type approval process. This recommendation is consistent with the Edmonton and Toronto meeting recommendations. Recommendation 1.4 Measurement Canada is to form a joint working group, with representation from all applicable stakeholders, that will establish the details of the requirements for the Type Approval of water meters. Again, this is consistent with the recommendation from the Edmonton and Toronto meeting. Comments and Discussions: Stakeholders want Measurement Canada to make sure that approval testing is not a costly process. Stakeholders were told that Measurement Canada approval testing for a basic volumetric petroleum meter (up to 2 inch in diameter) generally costs around $4000. More complex meters can cost up to $7000. Single approvals often include more then one type of model and/or size of meter. In general, meters and registers are approved separately and, if compatible, they can be used together as a single measuring device. It should be noted that these costs are for petroleum meters which are required to have an in-service limit of error of 0.25 percent. The approval testing for water meters may involve a reduced amount of testing. Stakeholders were informed that Measurement Canada’s service standard for the testing of prototype measuring devices is: “within 90 calendar days of receipt of the instrument and all appropriate documentation if the instrument is found to be in compliance with the requirements.” Delays as long as eighteen months sometimes do occur, but this is usually the result of the manufacturer not supplying the necessary technical data and/or the device does not initially meet the performance requirements. Stakeholders were informed that cold water meter approval testing is performed by the California Department of Agriculture, California Approval Program (CAP) and that this organization charges approximately US$2500 for the approval testing and issuing of a Notice of Approval Document for a basic 5/8 inch residential water meter. The approval process takes about two months but with the upcoming move to a new facility they hope to reduce this time to one month. The meter manufacturer representatives, who attended the session, informed the other stakeholders that the cost of approval testing would likely be reflected in the selling price of the water meters. They are primarily concerned about the approval testing of water meters models which are not widely sold in Canada. For these models, the cost of approval testing may be quite high when looked at on a cost per unit basis. As mentioned in the Edmonton and Toronto meetings, stakeholders are concerned that the American Water and Wasterwater Association (AWWA) C-70XX series of standards does not apply to certain types of water meters (ex: Mag Meters). Stakeholders indicated that there may not be a need for substantial additional testing beyond that which is already being performed by the meter manufacturer. This voluntary testing is done to demonstrate that the meters are in compliance with AWWA meter design standards. Measurement Canada should not be the only device approval laboratory. Other authorized locations could be acceptable if they meet the established standard. Measurement Canada oversight would be required. The question was asked as to whether or not there is a role for the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) in the type approval testing of household water meters. Mr. Welsh replied that CSA, and organisations like it, could be considered for type approval testing. In the past, CSA has not expressed an interest in this type of work. Measurement Canada should authorize organizations who want to provide approval testing. Other jurisdictions could be used but they must meet the requirements. AWWA is the recommended criteria for approval testing but other standards should be studied. One stakeholder expressed an opinion that AWWA Standard are tighter than the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) R 49-1 with respect to meter accuracy tolerances. In a later discussion on this topic, manufacturers raised the concern about adding additional requirements for the Canadian market. This market represents a small portion of total water meter sales in North America. Different requirements in Canada may cause meter manufacturers to rethink their investment in the Canadian marketplace. It was suggested that if Measurement Canada does establish regulations for water meters they should take into consideration the relatively low cost of water in Canada. It was recommended that approval testing requirements be performance based only. Update: After the meeting, Mr. Welsh contacted Mr. Rene Magnan, Vice-President, Engineering and Laboratory Services Directorate, Measurement Canada. Mr. Magnan explained that Measurement Canada has approved certain types of trade measurement devices without conducting tests where a known volume of product is compared with the registration of the device. This has been done in instances where the quantity of product needed to test the devices are so large that it is not physically possible to capture the product. In these cases the approval is issued based on intrinsic testing as well as other supportive documentation provided by the approval applicant. Mr. Magnan felt that large municipal water meters, as were described at the meeting, could fall under this type of approval testing. This was solely based on the information provided by Mr. Welsh. 2. Initial Inspection Recommendation 2.1 Measurement Canada is to require that all customer billing or custody transfer water meters, used by water utilities, must pass a mandatory initial inspection before being used in trade. This should apply at all levels of trade. (See Update in Comments and Discussions section below). This recommendation is consistent with the Edmonton and Toronto meeting recommendations. Recommendation 2.2 Initial inspections may be performed by any person or organization provided they meet established requirements. Initial inspections could be done either at the factory or in-situ, when required, as long as the devices comply to all established requirements before use in trade. This recommendation is also consistent with that from the Edmonton and Toronto meeting recommendation. An additional point to this recommendation is that a separate model for alternative service delivery should be considered for the water sector and that the existing accreditation and registration programs may not be a good fit for this sector. Recommendation 2.3 The requirement for initial inspection should only apply to new water meters. Water meters already in-service will be exempt from the initial inspection requirement. This recommendation is consistent with the Edmonton and Toronto meeting recommendation. Recommendation 2.4 Municipalities or water utilities will be responsible for the inspection of the installation of water meters. Measurement Canada should work with the water industry to establish standard requirements for the installation of Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional (ICI) water meters. The industry is to follow manufacturer specifications, local plumbing codes and any other requirements needed to ensure the meter is measuring accurately. This recommendation, although similar to the Edmonton meeting, but also includes the recommendation made in Toronto, that Measurement Canada work with the water industry to establish installation requirements rather than leave installation requirements to the industry. Recommendation 2.5 Measurement Canada is to form a joint working group, with representation from all applicable stakeholders, to establish the details of the initial inspection requirements. A joint working group approach should also be used to establish the installation requirements. This recommendation, is similar to the Edmonton meeting, but also includes the recommendation made in Toronto that Measurement Canada should form a joint working group to establish installation requirements. Comments and Discussions: One stakeholder (meter manufacturer) expressed their belief that water meters should not require a mandatory initial inspection before they are put into trade use. This position was not supported by any other stakeholders at the Vancouver meeting. Stakeholders agreed that meter manufacturers will probably conduct the majority of water meter initial inspections but they also expressed belief that an utility or 3rd party organization could be used to perform initial inspections provided that the established requirement were met. It was agreed by all stakeholders that a statistically valid sample testing was acceptable and this option should be considered. As in the previous meetings, stakeholders stated that incorrect installation of ICI meters can have a huge impact on accurate measurement. It was agreed that manufacturer’s installation requirements should be the minimum requirements for the installation of ICI meters. Meter manufacturers expressed concerns about the cost of the initial inspection and the fact that it would be passed on to the water utilities. Their concern was mainly caused by the fact they did not know what the new requirements would be. Their concerns would be lessened if the initial inspection procedure was in-line with the current procedure they use for the calibration and testing of new water meters. Update: Large Meter - Definition of Initial Inspection As with approval testing, Measurement Canada realizes that there are large water meters, used to sell water between two parties, which have such high operating flow rates that it is not practical and/or possible to inspect them with a known volume of water. For these reasons, Measurement Canada will consider initial inspections based on other methods besides the direct comparison of known volume and meter registration. 3. Re-verification Inspections Recommendation 3.1 Measurement Canada to require that all customer billing or custody transfer water meters, used by water utilities, be subjected to a mandatory re-verification inspection. This recommendation is to apply to all meter sizes and types. (See Update in Comments and Discussions section below). The mandatory re-verification inspection should apply to all levels of trade except where a regional municipal authority is supplying water to it’s member municipalities. For this level of trade it is recommended that water meters be exempt from mandatory re-verification requirements but a “best practices” or “protocol” process should be established by the Regional Municipality to ensure the water meters are performing to the required standard. This recommendation is consistent with the Edmonton and Toronto meeting recommendation except for the re-verification exemption that would be granted to water meters used by regional municipal authorities to supply water to it’s member municipalities. Recommendation 3.2 Re-verification inspections may be performed by any person or organization provided they meet the established requirements and are authorized by Measurement Canada. Re-verification inspections could be conducted at water utility meter shops, meter manufacturer test facilities or by 3rd party meter service organizations. Where it applies, re-verification inspections could also be conducted in-situ. This recommendation is consistent with the Edmonton and Toronto meeting recommendations. Sustainable alternatives to the existing accreditation and registration programs should be considered for meter re-verification in the water sector. Recommendation 3.3 Measurement Canada is to form a joint working group, with representation from all applicable stakeholders, to establish the details of the re-verification inspection requirements. This will include re-verification periods, sampling plans, and the option to re-verify or replace meters. The requirement for re-verification inspections should be implemented over a period of years (phase-in). This recommendation is similar to the Edmonton meeting and is consistent to the Toronto meeting as to phase-in periods. Comments and Discussions: It was recommended that a 3/4 to 5/8 inch residential water meter should be re-inspected or replaced within 20 years of installation. Re-inspection could be done via sample testing, with meters staying in service if the sample test results were acceptable. It was also agreed that the larger the size of water meter, the greater the need for re-inspection or replacement at an early date. Some stakeholders mentioned that the volume that passes through the meter should be considered when setting re-verification periods. It was mentioned that for many municipalities it may not be practical to administer the tracking of volume for 5/8 inch meters. It was interesting to note that for many of the participants in Vancouver the issue of accessing residential water meters was not a major concern. This is primarily due to the fact that new water meters are not being installed inside homes. They are instead being installed in meter boxes. This differs from other Canadian locations where extreme cold weather necessitates that the water meters are installed inside the customer’s residence. A stakeholder mentioned that flushing the water lines and the turbidity of the water could influence the wear and tear on the meter. This factor should be considered when deciding the periods for re-verification or meter replacement. A meter manufacturer stakeholder stated that from his experiences there are no municipalities in British Colombia or Alberta that are currently refurbishing their domestic water meters . A water utility stakeholder stated that for the past 20 years his organization had been rebuilding meters but two years ago they decided to scrap them instead of refurbishing them. One water utility stakeholder made the following statement “Anyone of us (stakeholders)who does not verify their water meters is not doing their job!” Update: Large Meter - Definition of Re-verification Inspection As with approval testing and initial inspections, Measurement Canada realizes that there are large water meters, used to sell water between two parties, which have such high operating flow rates that it is not practical and/or possible to inspect them with a known volume of water. For these reasons, Measurement Canada will consider re-verification inspections based on other methods besides the direct comparison of known volume and meter registration.
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| Created: 2005-08-04 Updated: 2005-12-02 |
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