News
Village of Laurelville Purchases New Water Meters
< < Back to village-laurelville-purchases-new-water-meters The Village of Laurelville is moving further into the 21st Century with the purchase of new water meters for the entire community.
According to Village Mayor Jason Hettinger, the current water meters were purchased and installed sometime around 1981, which is 33 years ago.
“They’ve been a constant source of problems,” Hettinger stated. “The new meters will help the department run much smoother, as they are all wireless and will transmit the information directly to the office without someone going out into the cold to read meters.”
The village’s current water meters will be replaced with Zenner Performance multi-jet type magnetic drive cold-water meters purchased from Ferguson Waterworks in Columbus.
With the purchase of the new meters, the village could possibly see an increase in revenue. By focusing personnel toward utility maintenance and away from the time consuming, nonproductive task of meter reading, the utility’s efficiencies with water loss improve and revenue increases.
The new meters will also help curb water losses; detect leaks; prevent identity theft of service or tampering; help settle usage disputes; and deliver detailed billing for village customers.
“Everyone on the water system in the village will receive a new meter,” Hettinger added. The cost of the new meters is $100,612, which includes installation and training.
“The meters we have now are not accurate,” Hettinger said.
“The new meters will help detect higher usage problems,” stated Kristen Johnson, village water clerk.
According to Hettinger, installation could start as early as mid-January, with installation completed by the end of February.
Approximately 50 percent of the village’s water meters are in-ground and hard to get to during winter months, and the village is also having a difficult time getting parts.
“I believe this is the right decision to move forward and purchase new meters,” Hettinger concluded.