Satellite Park Water System

Satellite Park Water System

Satellite Park water system is located between Cowichan Bay and Mill Bay in Area C. The water system services 82 residential properties.

Source, Treatment and Distribution 

The source of the water is a groundwater well that pumps water to the treatment building through a dedicated water supply line. The water receives chlorine disinfection before being pumped to a 575 m3 steel-bolted reservoir and gravity fed to the low areas of the system. A diversion in the pipe-works allows some of the water to be re-directed to the treatment building to be pumped up to the higher sections of the system.

Critical equipment is monitored 24-hours a day for malfunctions, such as high or low chlorine levels or pump failures; if such an abnormality occurs an alarm is sent to the on-duty pager to alert CVRD staff for immediate response. 

Testing results can be found in the Annual Water Report completed each year.

Fee Structure

Satellite Park water system is a fully metered water system meaning each connection has a water meter that records water consumption. The water meters are read every three months and customers are charged according to their consumption and based on the rates set out in the inclined block rate table below.

Annual Charges 

Billing PeriodMeter Reading DateUser Fees*
minimum payment (up to 100 m3)
 Parcel Tax**
(approx.)
Minimum Annual Fee 
 (User Fee and Parcel)
October 1 -  December 31January 1$87.50 $609.00$959.00
January 1 -  March 31April 1$87.50
April 1 - 
June 30
July 1  $87.50
July 1 -  September 30October 1  $87.50

 *User Fees are mailed out to each customers on the billing date stated above.

**Parcel Tax is charged once a year and is incorporated into the property tax for each customer.

Current year budget information can be found here.

Inclined Block Rate Table

 User Fees
 Water Use (per billing period) Charge
0 - 100 m3$87.50
101 - 150 m3$87.50 + $1.00 per m3 over 100 m3
151 - 200 m3$137.50 + $1.50 per m3 over 150 m3
over 200 m3$212.50 + $2.25 per m3 over 200 m3

Each connection has a water meter that records water consumption. Water meters are read every six months and customers are charged according to their consumption and based on the rates set out in the table below.

Each connection has a water meter that records water consumption. Water meters are read every six months and customers are charged according to their consumption and based on the rates set out in the table below.

Undetected Leaks

Undetected Leaks will be considered in any buried service water line or water line in the building's walls. Plumbing fixtures are taps, toilets and hose bibs. 

User Charges may be adjusted where an undetected leak on the consumer’s property has resulted in water usage greatly exceeding typical usage of water, according to the applicable classification(s) and there is no indication that water was knowingly allowed to run to waste. A request for a leak adjustment may be granted if all the following conditions are met or in extraordinary circumstances approval of the Corporate Financial Officer or the Manager.

  1. The property owner has not been granted a leak adjustment in the last 5 years. 
  2. The leak was repaired within 30 days of billing or discovery of the leak;
  3. Written verification describing the nature of the leakage and the action taken to rectify the problem must be received by the Manager before a leak adjustment will be granted.

Where a leak adjustment is approved, User Charge adjustments will be determined as follows:

  1. If the leak is found in the service line, volumes from the 2 previous years, of the same billing cycle, will be averaged and charged. i.e. Average of 2 previous summers, if leak occurs in the summer.
  2. If the leak is associated with an in-home plumbing fixture or irrigation system, volumes from the 2 previous years, of the same billing cycle will be averaged plus 50% of the incremental water usage (between the average and the overage) will be charged to a maximum added value of $500.
  3. Subsequent leaks occurring within 5 years of the previous leak adjustment request will be eligible for the cap of $1,500 per single family dwelling equivalent, up to a maximum of $5,000. Where the average of the 2 previous years of the same billing cycle is greater than $5,000, the eligible cap will be 1.5 times the average.