The Culver Town Council has given Street Superintendent Bob Porter their permission to purchase 50 new water meters to help phase out the remaining old meters, which are susceptible to tampering. The street department has been systematically replacing the old meters over the last five or more years, and their inventory has been reduced to ten new meters remaining.
The cost of 50 new meters is $7,310 but a total of 96 meters still need replaced, meaning that before the meter replacement project is complete, Porter will have to once again ask for permission to purchase more meters.
These new meters are not only easier to read, but they prevent residents from “cheating;” that is, tampering with their meters to reduce their bill. On average, one person per year was found to have modified their meter to pay a lower bill.
Currently, the street department handles all of the water metering. Whenever an old meter breaks, they replace it with the new meter. Also, the street department tries to replace the meters whenever they do a manual read.
