Dear Editor:

We moved here eight years ago from Manitoba. What attracted us was Osoyoos being an oasis in this pocket desert with a great climate.

It was also a beautiful town on the lake with green foliage everywhere.

In towns where water is metered, many citizens, especially those on a tight budget, will not water their lawns or hedges, resulting in ugly brown areas as was evidenced throughout Osoyoos this past summer when water restrictions were in place.

Water and sewer services are not supplied free of course as they are billed out on our annual property taxes, which we believe is a very efficient method that allocates the cost fairly and does not discourage people from keeping their yards from becoming burned out eyesores.

Obviously, if there is a water shortage, it would be necessary to discourage waste and meters are one way to accomplish this.

There was much talk of a drought this past summer – a summer where it was hotter and dryer than normal.

However, Osoyoos Lake remained at normal levels and water continued to flow over the Zosel Dam and eventually into the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean.

There appears to be some confusion over the drought threat to the Okanagan River and Osoyoos Lake and the water supply for the Town of Osoyoos.

Town water is drawn from six deep wells and at no time was there any notification during the extended drought that water levels were dropping in these underground aquifers.

If the water level is not dropping, then there is absolutely no reason for Osoyoos to restrict water usage.

It is politically correct to talk about water conservation as if we are dealing with a non-renewable resource.

But the truth is that it is impossible for humans to “use up” all of the water on our planet.

Water constantly recycles itself naturally and the same amount of water exists today is it did a million years ago.

Water that goes down our drains or evaporates from lawns does not disappear.

All water will eventually flow to the ocean or evaporate and fall again as rain or snow.

And this will continue forever.

Whether water in Osoyoos Lake flows into the Columbia River or Pacific Ocean or is redirected to water crops, lawns and gardens, the recycling process continues.

Now to get back to water meters, which are being considered for property owners throughout the Town of Osoyoos.

The water meters being proposed are “smart meters.”

With all of the controversy surrounding FortisBC bringing smart meters into our community to measure electricity usage, this would double the number of smart meters on our properties.

It would also add significantly to the cost of providing water.

The present cost of water, that is added to our property taxes, will, in all likelihood, double with the same water usage just by adding metering with all its costs, monitoring and individual billing.

Do you really want another bill to pay every month?

My question to the residents of Osoyoos is this. If the water level in our aquifers is not dropping and there is no shortage of water, why should we spend $1.9 million to install smart meters on every property and likely double the cost of this essential services to our citizens?

Jack Johnston

Osoyoos, B.C.