Photo: Bashaw town council heard that staff suspect a water meter glitch may be to blame for inconsistent numbers on a water reconciliation report. Rural Alberta Report/S.Salkeld

The Town of Bashaw council discussed possible glitches affecting water meters. The discussion was held at the Apr. 1 regular meeting of council.

Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Theresa Fuller provided councillors with the regular report on the municipal water system. The report noted that in Jan. Bashaw was billed by the Hwy. #12/21 Water Commission for 7,784 metres of water cubed, while the water treatment plant logged 7,739 metres of water cubed, a difference of only 45; the report further noted Bashaw’s water meters in Jan. recorded 6,705 metres of water cubed as used within town, a difference of 1,034 metres cubed, resulting in a total loss for Jan. of 1,079.

In Feb., the report noted, Hwy. #12/21 billed Bashaw for 7,216, with the water treatment plant logging 7,101 metres of water cubed, a difference of only 115. However, the municipal water meters recorded a use of 5,340 metres cubed, an even bigger difference of 1,761 and a total loss of 1,876 metres cubed that month.

The CAO observed in her verbal report that town staff are watching the water meters closely and noted there may be some glitches with utilities.

She further noted that Bashaw municipal staff have discussed reading meters manually, including on the weekends, to see what water usage they are recording.

The CAO stated that other water numbers appear to be in alignment, but the water meter numbers may or may not be in alignment.

As councillors are currently in the midst of developing their 2026 capital and operating budgets, the CAO stated that a proposed budget calls for increased water meter replacement this year.

Mayor Cindy Orom asked that the water reconciliation report be moved from the consent or “automatically approved” agenda into council’s regular agenda for discussion. “Just always like to hear the updates,” said the mayor.

Readers should note the Town of Bashaw spent years investigating water loss within the municipal system, an investigation that bore fruit recently when a contractor was able to use techniques that revealed the site of a previously unknown water leak. Water loss is especially critical with municipalities as members of water commissions, which typically bill those municipalities for every metre cubed of water that is used, including water lost within a municipal system.

Councillors closed out their water reconciliation discussion with the note that a conservative estimate of the Town of Bashaw’s water usage, and hence amount of water purchased from Hwy. #12/21 in 2026, is thought to be around 100,000 metres cubed.