The number of Calgarians paying flat rates for water use is dropping as the city moves ahead with plans to convert all remaining residences to meters in the next five years.

More than 80 per cent of homes in Calgary have already been switched, leaving about 50,000 that still need meters installed.

Paul Fesko, the city’s manager of strategic services for water, said the plan is to convert about 10,000 homes a year to meet council’s deadline of having them all done by 2014.

The water meter program is designed to reduce water consumption because there is no additional water supply available, said Fesko.

“It’s a way to look after the river,” he added.

Since the 1980s, water consumption has dropped by about a half, which means that though the city has grown, no additional water is being taken from the river.

Those who still have the flat rate accounts will be contacted by the city to set up an appointment to have a meter installed. The process does not cost the homeowner anything and takes between 60 and 90 minutes, explained Fesko.

Coventry Hills, McKenzie Towne, and Cranston are first on the list. Later this spring, installments are slated for Harvest Hills, Country Hills, Panorama Hills, Chaparral, Douglasdale and Douglas Glen.