Region offers free home reviews as Cambridge water bills rise

Tina Summers has been noticing a concerning trend when she receives her water bill.

It keeps going up.

“I have been noticing increases steadily,” Summers said.

“My previous bill was $160.32 over 69 days and my current bill is $223.55.”

For some, water bills are another expense that is adding to the rising cost of living.

The Region of Waterloo is trying to combat the higher bills by offering free home water reviews.

Summers, who works for a non-profit, is already exercising caution around all of her spending to try and keep up.

“This increase I’m still processing,” she said.

“I have been impacted as part of the health system working for a nonprofit, so my wage is not remotely keeping up with real increases in gasoline, utilities, groceries and services. We’re choosing to cut back on the extras for groceries and considering downsizing.  I'll be sitting down with the budget to figure out what else to do.”

Part of the frustration is Summers feels like she’s doing everything she can to help conserve water.

“I’m a firm believer in conservation of resources for generations to come,” she said.

“We already have new toilets and are conscious of our use. We don’t run the tap for hand washing or toothbrushing and take short showers.”

Dan Meagher, supervisor of source water protection programs for the Region of Waterloo, gets people’s frustration and says the region is trying to help.

The free home water review program allows residents throughout the region to book a visit from a professional to analyze their water usage. Once scheduled, a water expert will come to the house to better understand the residents' habits and explain actions that can be taken to use less.

“This program was up and running in 2016 but it’s been tweaked along the way,” Meagher said.

“Everybody's costs are going up. If we can help them keep their water bills in check, that's important to us.”

But why are water bills increasing for some? There are two main reasons, Meagher says.

“Leaks are a top one,” he said.

“People never think they have a leak but don’t realize how much a toilet can leak without even noticing. The second is behavioural. A lot of people don't have a good handle on their behaviour. We can tangibly quantify that. We can find out what consumption should be based on a person’s behaviour.”

Summers uses tips put out by the region to limit water use, but says she’s worried that the review will end in a pressured sales pitch that she doesn’t have time for.

Meagher understands the hesitation of letting someone into their home, but says the program is designed to do the opposite.

“They aren’t asked to buy anything, in fact we end up giving them tools to help with water reduction,” he said.

“With such a heavily growing region we rely on groundwater for our drinking water. By getting everyone's household consumption down we can plan infrastructure and future costs. It’s in our best interest if everyone uses just what they need.”

To book a free home water review visit regionofwaterloo.ca.