By Sebastian Kanally, Times Chronicle
Oliver will purchase 100 water meters early to avoid an oncoming 10 per cent cost increase.
The town decided to give early approval for the Water Meter Replacement Capital Project due to a 10 per cent increase in cost that will occur on January 1, 2025.
The town will purchase 100 water meters before the end of the year for $69,336 in order to save around $7,000 that they would have to pay if they waited until the new year.
The new meters will no longer be the type of water meters that read mechanically. This old style has moving parts to measure water usage which tend to break down over time due to calcification.
The new electronic water meters measure water usage using electronic signals and have no moving parts.
Oliver started installing meters in 2009 and from that original install year, the town still has to replace 962 of them due to them breaking down.
The town has replaced 1,196 water meters in the past five years prior to 2024, including:
- 333 in 2019;
- 288 in 2020;
- 269 in 2021;
- 126 in 2022;
- 180 in 2023.
The total cost for these five years plus 2024 was $547,879 for purchasing the meters only.
Kelly Mercer, director of operations with the town explained that the water meters being replaced are all “no reads”, which means they are no longer working.
The town receives a warranty on replacing the meter heads until year 18 of their life.
If the meters fail to read within the first 10 years, the warranty covers a full replacement at no cost to the town. If the meter fails in years 11-14 the town receives a 20 per cent discount and if the meter fails in years 15-18 there is a 15 per cent discount.
