OLDS — A group calling itself Take Action Olds which opposes the Town of Olds' program to install smart water meters on private properties plans to attend the municipality's Aug. 25 council meeting.
Members say the municipality did not properly consult residents beforehand about smart water meters and the dangers they believe they pose.
The project was announced in January. In total, the plan is to repair or replace 640 water meters, primarily in the southwest part of town, where water loss appears to be the most significant.
During the municipality's July 14 council meeting, chief administrative officer Brent Williams said 86 to 100 of those 640 water meters remained to be repaired or replaced.
At the time, Coun. James Cummings said he had some residents contact him expressing concern about the program.
“Their fear (is) that they're going to get some sort of illness from our meters,” he said.
The group alleges that some residents have had their water shut off when they didn’t allow the meters to be replaced.
So the group is calling on the Town of Olds to place a moratorium on smart meter installation until public consultation on the program is held.
They plan to bring a petition regarding their concerns for sympathizers to sign. They have also distributed a flyer outlining their concerns.
“We are a group of concerned residents advocating for better transparency and consultation on the Town (of Olds') water meter exchange program and other major initiatives,” the emailed information says.
“The introduction of smart water meters affects every household, yet it was rolled out without proper public consultation, leaving residents unaware of potential risks like health, privacy, and liability concerns.
“It’s crucial to address the fact that some families with children and pets have already had their water shut off simply for declining smart meters,” the email says. “This needs urgent attention.”
Those who receive the email are urged to contact Town of Olds Mayor Judy Dahl and her fellow council members to demand that the water service be immediately restored to those residents who allegedly lost service for refusing to accept smart meters.
The email also contains a long list of links to various websites and videos on the topic.
The Albertan asked CAO Williams about the group's allegations.
"Only one person had their water service disrupted out of the 700-800 meters we have installed to date. And I believe they are the organizer of the petition/flyers/group," Williams wrote in an email.
He said the new council chamber in the Olds Municipal Centre on 70th Avenue will only have seating for about 10 members of the public.
"Everyone else will have to stand," he wrote.
Infrastructure director Adrian Pedro confirmed last month that staff has been running into some resistance from some homeowners.
“It's basically 50/50, when you have that conversation,” Pedro said. “We do our best to provide them with the information that they're looking for, trying to make them understand that the information that they're generally listening to isn't necessarily correct. That doesn't always work, though.”
