Following public consultations in 2009 and this year, the Regional District of East Kootenay is moving forward to install Water meter in the communities of Edgewater and Timber Ridge.

The contract to install the units was given to Neptune Technology, whose Canadian operations are based out of Mississauga, ON, at a total cost of just short of $150,000 for the Edgewater meters, roughly 11 per cent below the budgeted price, and just over $200,000 in Timber Ridge.

The total cost of the Timber Ridge installation will be covered by the Building Canada Fund - Communities Component whereas the Edgewater ones will be split evenly between the Community Works Fund and RDEK reserves.

The meters will allow Neptune to make water meter readings without entering a property by way of a radio transmitter. The first bills are scheduled to be nothing more than tests and hopes are that, once water users have an idea of how much they will be spending on water, reckless consumption will decline.Water meters

Some have argued that it is going to lead to a greater cost for those with gardens, but others respond by saying water preservation should be a higher priority than individual water needs.