Smart meters have been a target of conversation since a bylaw change during the July 11, 2022, city council meeting. The change amended the sewer and water utility bylaw so contractors can enter private properties to perform the meter installation. This bylaw was changed to ensure homeowners cannot reject the device. The bylaw is expected to be amended by September.
This smart meter project was originally approved during a December 2020 meeting. It will cost $7 million to install these new smart meters into more than 12,000 homes and buildings throughout the community. Four workers will be installing about 160 meters per week and 640 per month. This is expected to generate roughly $200,000 to $300,000 per year once the new meters come online.
In response to questions from the Moose Jaw Express, city hall said it is moving forward with its smart water meter project to reduce water consumption, attain cost savings and produce operational efficiencies.
“Those goals can only be met if all residents are using the same system. If a resident is using an old meter, they are still at risk for undetected water leaks, higher bills and it would create large inefficiencies and additional costs with operations and billing that would have to be recovered from utility rates,” the city said.
Regarding the safety of the meters, the city hall said that information from contractor Neptune Technology Group and Health Canada indicates the meters are safe. This data has given the municipality confidence to move forward with the project.
“The city will be more than pleased to meet with individual property owners to discuss this new system and any of their concerns,” the city stated.
City hall will soon issue a news release about the new meters and will create a page on the city website at moosejaw.ca that will have information about the smart meter project, the email added. Also, while the city is finalizing the installation schedule for the meters, it will send out notification letters to homeowners within a few weeks before the project starts. The letters will contain all relevant information about the program
This change over to smart meters could take about 30 to 90 minutes to install, but there will be no administrative, connection, or construction fees. After installation, residents will receive partial bills for both the old and new meters.
Many questions are being asked about these smart meters, and the potential dangers they present. Are there health risks? Do smart meters cause cancer? What radiation does it emit? Does it interfere with other technology? These are just some of the questions posed in researching the topic.
Pros and Cons
There are numerous pros and cons associated with smart meters. Some pros are:
- No more estimated meter readings. Since smart meters collect data every 15 minutes, the reading will be accurate to the amount of water you have used, instead of an estimate from your previous years’ use based on that timeframe.
- More control of your data. With a smart meter, you can see a detailed data sheet of when you have used more water.
- No more meter readers entering your private property. After the installation of the smart meter, there should be no reason for a meter reader to need to enter your property since the smart meter remotely sends that information.
- It can detect leaks. If there is a major spike in water usage that is a good sign that there is a leak.
- It could prevent frauds or tampering. There have been cases of false water readers that break into properties and steal, by pretending to be agents they had an excuse to get through the front door. Since smart meters work remotely that will not be an issue.
The advantages are notable but there are also some cons in regards:
- It does not directly reduce the water bill. The main appeal is allowing you to track your water usage, but the smart meter does not reduce the cost itself.
- It does use electricity to function so it could fractionally increase your electric bill.
- Low signal could affect performance. Some water meters communicate through mobile networks. If the area where the smart meter is has a poor signal, then it could affect the data transfer.
- It could increase bills for those with an unmetered water supply.
- They could lead to adverse health risks.
Health risks
Human health effects from exposure to smart meters have not been fully determined. With more research, the health effects should be able to be accurately defined. Smart water meters use radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) to allow the readings to be taken from your smart meter.
Much like our cellphones, smart meters emit RF but only one per cent of the time. Which is a lot less frequent than how often our cellphones are emitting RF.
However, a different frequency called Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) radiation is emitted 24/ 7 by the wiring going to smart meters. ELF is an even lower frequency than RF, but it still shows some researched health effects with constant exposure.
Some studies have suggested the following symptoms:
- Sleep disturbances, including insomnia.
- Headaches.
- Depression and depressive symptoms.
- Tiredness and fatigue.
- Dysesthesia (a painful, often itchy sensation).
- Lack of concentration.
- Changes in memory.
- Dizziness.
- Irritability.
- Loss of appetite and weight loss.
- Nausea.
- Skin burning and tingling.
Smart meter and cancer
RF radiation does not have enough energy to remove charged particles such as electrons, which makes this non-ionizing radiation. This type of radiation has enough energy to move atoms in a molecule around or cause them to vibrate, this will not damage the DNA directly though it can lead to heat.
RF radiation is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), as ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’ which means that there is some evidence that it can cause cancer in humans, but that evidence is not conclusive. This was a finding from a study that showed a link between cellphone use and a specific type of brain tumor.
Due to smart meters emitting RF radiation, and RF radiation is a possible carcinogen, it is possible that smart meters could raise the risk of cancer. Luckily, the amount of RF radiation, you would be exposed to from a smart meter is much less than what you would be exposed to from a cell phone, though that does not mean that the risk is not still there.
Some concern has been voiced that a smart meter could pose a risk to those who have previously been affected by cancer. Damaged cells that were damaged by exposure to another substance might be more likely to become cancerous when exposed to RF waves. This could be a concern for cancer patients that are undergoing ionizing radiation or medicines that might cause cancer themselves. A study on animals has shown evidence of this, but this effect has not been studied in people.
Smart meters are not the only or the strongest source of EMF radiation in our homes, but if the smart meter is close to your bed or somewhere you spend a lot of your time it could be a problem. Additionally, if you suffer from EMF Hypersensitivity, a smart meter could affect you more than the average person. It is best to sleep at least five feet away from the smart meter.
Some of the information was gathered from files from Jason Antonio.
If you want to learn more about smart meters and the possible risks, you can visit the following websites for more information.
https://morconnect.ca/pros-and-cons-of-using-smart-water-meters/
https://selectra.co.uk/water/guides/smart-water-meter
https://www.defendershield.com/smart-meters-and-emf-emissions-are-they-really-a-concern
https://www.healthline.com/health/emf#takeaway
