REGINA — Eighteen local residents are currently taking legal action against the City of Regina over smart water meters.
Tonie Wells is the lead plaintiff in the case and said she and many others have tried to resolve concerns with the city for years.
“We're seeing erroneous bills [from the new water meters] of upwards of hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars,” claimed Wells.
In 2022, the city started replacing roughly 78,000 water meters as the current ones were nearing the end of their life cycle. As of Tuesday, the city confirmed it has installed 99 per cent of the new smart water meters.
This change has been affecting those most vulnerable, including elderly and disabled people, said Wells.
“We have one gentleman who has ADHD and autism, and he is on disability. They tried to force us to get a power of attorney, and they cut him off because he was questioning a $700 bill. He was disconnected for almost five months,” she claimed.
Wells also claimed the gentleman was “being pressured” into a payment plan and his house could have been foreclosed on if he hadn’t accepted it.
In another case, Wells alleged a man with cancer who uses an oxygen machine was billed $3,000.
Wells said, the city allegedly believed the higher bill was caused by a leak, but she pointed out a plumber inspected the home and found no evidence of one.
After contacting the city, Wells claims officials forced the man to sign a leak document to reduce his bill by $1,400.
“He said, ‘How do I pay that? I don't know what to do. I'm on disability. I can't pay this. I won't pay it by the time I die,’” she says.
Despite their outcry to the city, Wells said communication with the mayor and councillors has been lacking and frustrating.
“You are elected by the people to come into this position to represent us to be our voice. It's disheartening to see our councillors sitting back on their laurels, saying 'we can't get involved here because there's litigation,'” she added.
With no other options, Wells filed an injunction application to the Court of King’s Bench in September, which was dismissed by a judge.
Since then, Wells and others have filed for a second injunction, which will be decided later this month.
Before the court’s decision, organizers of United We Stand Regina will host a town hall meeting on water meters this Thursday.
“[We’re] asking people to bring us their high bills, to bring pictures of the installation that's gone wrong, the concerns that they have, so that they can try to be heard as well, and at this point, we are looking at potentially filing a supplemental affidavit (more evidence) of a few hundred other people.”
In a statement to SaskToday, the City of Regina said it has no comment on the current legal process.
Regarding water meters, the city said it is “confident in the new meters, which meet strict accuracy standards and are factory-calibrated and certified by the manufacturer before installation.”
Wells said if a second injunction is dismissed, further legal action will be taken by filing an appeal to an appeal board and possibly taking the case to the Supreme Court of Canada.
However, Wells said she would prefer working with the city on a potential opt-out option for residents who had the new water meters installed.
