Correspondence re: Reconsideration of Sewage Bill for 2201 Highland Road

DELIVERED BY HAND

February 12th, 2014

45 View Royal Avenue Victoria, B.C. V9B 1A6

TO: Mayor Graham Hill and View Royal Council

My wife and I have owned property at 2201 Highland Road for the past 14 years. Last January we received a water bill from the Capital Regional District in excess of $500.00. We realized there was a problem as our water consumption had always been moderate to low. We questioned the CRD about the accuracy of their meter and after numerous telephone calls and letters/e-mails it was inspected. We complied with all of their requests to inspect our plumbing fixtures and there were no apparent leaks. It still remains a mystery – although we reluctantly paid the bill in full. We were upset about the incident, but decided we had to let it go.

Some eight months after this incident we received a sewage bill from the Town of View Royal for an additional $500.00. Our attempts to have this large amount rectified were thwarted because the Township advised that the bill was based on the CRD's reading and policy and did not allow any deviation.

Now, instead of a $500.00 cost, it is $1,000. This caused us to revisit the whole event to try to determine causation. I have searched inside and out of the house to try to find out the cause of the spike in usage. In early November, I opened the inside valve for an external shower, which is located by a hot tub. This tub has not been used in over two years. I discovered a hairline crack in the shower fixture which leaked a significant amount of water. The leak was not audible from the interior of the house, nor visible from the exterior because of a shower curtain. I think what may have happened is when our daughter was asked (after initially being advised on the consumption issue by the CRD) to check all the valves to make sure they were turned off, she turned off the valve to this external shower so we were unaware of the problem when we returned from vacation.

The shower has now been removed and the pipes leading to it have been capped. It should be noted that the runoff water from the shower ran into a rock pit and not the sewer.

I have informed your staff (Steven Vella) about this issue and he suggested I write to you as he has no discretion to reconsider the bill. I have also asked for the CRD to reconsider its position as well.

I respectfully request that you reconsider our sewage bill under the circumstances outlined above. If you require further information, please don't hesitate to contact me at the number listed below. Thank you.

Yours truly,

Brent Parfitt 2201 Highland Road Victoria, B.C. V9B6H8