Anti-genocide campaigners are calling for Edmontonians to act now to avoid having water meters installed in their homes made by an Israeli company that profits from the ongoing genocide and apartheid taking place in Palestine.
Epcor, the utility provider whose sole shareholder is the city of Edmonton, is installing new water meters in Edmonton homes in 2024. There are two kinds of water meters being installed in people's homes, one made with parts and manufactured by an Israeli company called Arad Group and another meter that doesn't. You can spot the one made by Arad Group if it's already installed in your home because it will say "Made In Israel" next to the readout display (there's also a picture below).
In 2013 Arad had a roughly $12 million contract to supply water meters to Ma’on, a violent illegal settlement in the West Bank that has continued to expand over the years through violent terrorism and apartheid tactics. Arad also installed a water metering system in the illegal settlement of Ariel. The practice of developing parallel water infrastructure in occupied West Bank settlements that only Israeli settlers can access is called water apartheid.
Arad was established in 1941 by Kibbutz Dalia and Kibbutz Ramot. A kibbutz is a type of collective agrarian community unique to Israel. The Arad Group is also still headquartered in Kibbutz Dalia.
Both kibbutzim were involved in the murder and expulsion of Palestinians from their land in 1948 during the Nakba, the mass killing and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by Israelis during the creation of the Israeli state.
If you live in Edmonton you have no choice as to who provides your water services but you do have a choice about what kind of water meter you can get. According to the latest update from the Epcor Delivers Genocide campaign, Epcor customers can call in and ask to have the alternative meter instead.
Epcor’s former policy said that opting out of the Arad Group water meter would cost customers $200 up front and an additional monthly $50 fee. However, due to pressure from campaigners, Epcor has dropped the upfront fee and the reading fee for the alternative meter will be $25 a month. Epcor confirmed this in an emailed statement to the Progress Report.
“We didn’t ask for this. EPCOR shouldn’t force us to be complicit in Israeli mass murder, human rights abuses, and displacement of Palestinians, including over 11 and a half months of genocide in Gaza,” said Fatima Saleh, a spokesperson for the Epcor Delivers Genocide campaign.
According to the campaign’s website, they are asking participants to call Epcor and voice their concerns, to write Epcor with those concerns as well, and most importantly, to refuse the installation of any Arad water meters.
The Epcor Delivers Genocide campaign explains their objectives in full, and provide more details on Epcor and Arad, on their website at epcordeliversgenocide.ca. They are also posting frequent updates on their Instagram, epcor.delivers.genocide.
The water meter manufactured by the Arad Group, in an Edmontonian's home. Image supplied.
The campaign to boycott Arad water meters appears inspired by a similar, and successful, campaign in the UK in 2013. Boycotts of companies who operate in the illegal settlements have been a tactic used against the Israeli occupation for years, particularly by the Boycott-Divest-Sanctions (BDS) movement organized by Palestinian BDS National Committee. Similar campaigns were key to bringing down the apartheid regime in South Africa.
Epcor did send an emailed statement when asked questions about why they were installing water meters manufactured by a company profiting from the genocide and apartheid being perpetrated by Israel against Palestinians.
“We understand that some have concerns with the company that manufactures our AMI water meter reading devices and where components in the device are made. We have been meeting with some members of the community on this. We have been listening to their concerns, and we have heard their deeply personal stories,” said an Epcor spokesperson in an emailed statement.
According to Epcor the devices they’re installing are the only ones on the market compatible with electricity meters that were installed across Edmonton between 2014 and 2016.
“Epcor has an option for customers to opt out of the water AMI program. We recently revised our estimates of the costs of providing this service and the number of customers who would participate and have updated the fee all customers will pay to opt out to reflect these new estimates,” said Epcor.
According to Epcor the $25 a month additional reading fee is subject to annual review and the next review will take place in 2026, with any potential changes taking effect on April 1, 2026.
A screenshot from the Epcor Delivers Genocide Instagram account.