City councillors will be asked Tuesday to approve a $14-million plan that would see water meters installed in all Kamloops houses over the next three years.

According to the report prepared by utilities staff, water meters will save the City money by making several capital upgrades to the existing water delivery and treatment systems unnecessary.

The cost of the program will be financed solely from existing water utility operating reserves and federal government gas tax revenues, it states.

The plan, if approved, will see meters rolled out in three phases, with meters going first into homes in the downtown and southeast sectors of the city. The southwest sector will follow in the second year, followed by the North Shore in the third year.

Every single-family household will pay a one-time capital fee of $256 and a base consumption rate of $144 annually, followed by 65 cents to $1 for every 1,000 litres of water they use.

The base consumption charge will include an allotment of 45,000 litres in the fall and winter and 90,000 litres in the spring and summer. Only water used above those seasonal amounts will be result in additional charges.

City administration estimates the proposed rate structure will see 60 per cent of households pay less for water than they currently do, according to the report.

Kamloops Mayor Peter Milobar said he's pleased the proposal will not require the City to take on more debt and will allow for the deferral of costly upgrades.

As well, he said it's good to see staff has proposed extra water be allowed to residents in the spring and summer, when people are watering lawns and gardens.

“(The report) has been given a lot of thought,” he said Friday.

The report states the average Kamloops resident is a high-water user. On peak days, water demand rises to about 1,800 litres of water per person per day. The annual average is 790 litres per person per day, with the low period in the winter at 430 litres a day.

Peak demand days always occur in the hottest days of summer, when people water lawns and gardens. Peak-day demand is one of the key factors driving the size and capacity of the City's water infrastructure. As the city grows, capital upgrades would be required to keep up.

Without meters, the City would be required to spend tens of millions of dollars over the next decade upgrading that infrastructure, says the report.

Water meters will defer or eliminate the need for upgrades for at least a decade, according to the report. Other proposed options include an enhanced voluntary water-metering program.

The proposed rate structure could be revisited if the rates do not result in the desired levels of citywide water conservation, the report indicates.

Other water conservation measures, including education and enforcement, will continue to play a part in the city's overall water strategy.