Charlottetown water meter installation begins

Charlottetown has begun installing water meters in homes throughout the city as part of its mandatory water meter program, requiring all homes to have the meters installed by December 2019.

For the past year, the city's been asking residents to consider putting water meters in their home. About1,200 people came forward,more than the city expected.

Allan Hart, who lives in Charlottetown, was among the volunteers. He says hethinks twice before turning on the tap.

"Water is such a...it's something that people can just take for granted, having an abundant supply of fresh water and actually it's becoming a pretty rare commodity," he said.

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The program is designed to help protect Charlottetown's water supply and cut back on consumption bykeeping track of how much water is used.

All of this comes with a pretty big price tag.The installations will cost about $2 million.

But the city saysit will save money in the long run as people become more aware of their water consumption.

The city will be divided into six zones. Thefirst homes to get meters will be in the downtown area.

Residents will receive a letter and then arrange to have a meter installed. For those who don't want to wait, early appointments are also being scheduled.

The city hopes to have 7,000 meters installed by 2019.