City leaders approved using $800,000 in American Rescue Plan funding to buy new water meters for the city.
The goal in buying the water meters is to reduce the amount of water being lost through old meters, which can be inaccurate. Public Works Director Eric Lindman says as much as 17% of the water used in the city is not being counted and paid for. That’s a lot of lost money to the utility, he says.
The city aims to pair the $800,000 with $1 million from the general fund to start replacing the nearly 7,400 meters in the city.
Not everyone is thrilled with having their meters replaced, city staff says. But the city can require it for service, and at some point turn someone’s water off if they don’t pay.
The meters have been challenging to order recently, Lindman says. They’re first getting an order now that had been placed some time ago. But getting the orders for new meters in now would help the city replace them.
A water utility worker told the committee three full-time staff positions would be dedicated to replacing the meter, and that would result in about 24 meters per day being replaced.
