Queen Charlotte's water meters will be up and running by the first quarter of 2013, says QC Chief Administrative Officer Peter Weeber.Most of the meters have been in place for some time, but were not put into operation because the priority was to get the new water treatment plant operational, said Mr. Weeber. Village staff is in the process of testing the meters, which will be measuring water usage for every home and business using municipal water, and linking them with property files in order to track usage by address.Residents will not see a change in their utility bills until next year however. "Once the system is fully operational we will be able to determine the annual usage for residential and commercial customers," said Mr. Weeber. "We will need one year (2013) to establish baseline data. The cost to operate and maintain the water system determines the utility rates." The system already been helpful to the village by allowing staff to pinpoint problem areas."We have been able to identify and repair a number of leaks in the water system based on usage data. Water usage has been reduced by approximately 20 percent since the initial installation," Mr. Weeber said. Once baseline data has been recorded, the village may be able to find more ways to conserve water in high usage areas, he said.