Meadville studying digital water meter options

Meadville’s aging infrastructure took center stage during the town’s monthly board of aldermen meeting on Tuesday, April 12 as the panel spent half of its hour-long session focusing on proposed digital water meter installations.

“We have very old water meters in the ground and we have talked about this problem for some time now,” Mayor Lane B. Reed said to open the discussion.

“For this effort, we want to use some of the state ARPA — American Recovery Plan Act — funds and really don’t want to focus on borrowing lots of money to do this because we have a limited town budget and we don’t like being in the red.”

ARPA dollars were initially allocated by Congress during the coronavirus pandemic to assist with infrastructure improvements.

Reed noted he hoped those funds funneled through the state by the federal government could be utilized to cover up to two-thirds of the expenses tied to Meadville’s potential purchase and installation of new water meters.

However, he conceded some level of financing will likely be necessary to meet any local funding match requirements and to replace the sheer number of household and commercial meters town-wide that are, conservatively, between 30 and 40 years old.

“Many (customers) are not being billed beyond the minimum, but they are using above the minimum rate because the meters are so old that they are not turning,” the mayor continued.

“This issue is costing the town a significant amount of revenue, and the reality is — and everyone around this table knows it — providing water is not cheap.”

Due to this fact, Reed said the town has worked diligently to keep water losses through leaks in the municipal distribution system to a minimum, and studying meter replacement is the next logical step in building revenue without increasing rates.

Derek W. Chapman, representing Consolidated Pipe and Supply of Jackson, said his firm sold meters manufactured by Neptune Technologies, which is based in Tallassee, Ala., and is the only American-made meter product currently on the market.

“When you sell water — as a municipality — you should get the fair cost back (for the service) to support your town,” Chapman said. “We believe, after doing the investigation we have, that is not happening in Meadville at this point.”

Chapman said Reed’s assessment of the problem was correct as any existing meter that is not turning properly directly impacts the town’s cash flow — and grows exponentially with every unit that is not working properly.

“In your situation, we feel like it would benefit you highly to replace the old meters,” he continued and cited the town as having around 400 customers on its water distribution system.

Chapman suggested the town look at a “radio-read” system where meters would be read wirelessly — a process that could potentially take up to one hour each month as opposed to a town employee spending two days manually reading each meter.

Additionally, Chapman said such a system would virtually do away with human errors such as meter misreadings or data keyed into billing software incorrectly, and would eventually provide long-term historical data on water usage for each customer in the town.

He also noted the meter reading technology can easily interact with the town’s current billing software.

Brian Hickman, also with Consolidated Pipe and Supply, showed a digital meter that has measuring technology built into an electronic “head” that is part of the device that is installed between the town’s water mains and its residential or commercial customers.

“Each meter has a 10-digit MIU number — a serial number essentially — that is connected to each customer’s account in your billing software,” Hickman said.

“This equipment cannot send a bad number for meter readings, and cannot be tampered with ... it is what it is.”

Hickman said the new meters work the same as traditional devices — just with a lot more bells and whistles that provide a more accurate picture of water usage on a consistent basis.

Reed noted that if the town went forward with the meter replacement effort, a third-party vendor would likely be responsible for installing the units.

At the end of the discussion, the board voted 4-0 to investigate the meter effort further, including engaging the town’s engineer of record to be involved in the process, giving authority to seek ARPA funds through the state to pay for the work and to look at available financing options through local banking institutions.

Alderman David Scarbrough was not present for the meeting and did not vote.
In other action during the session, the Meadville Board of Aldermen:

• Talked about plans to start upgrades to the town’s Fourth Street sewer infrastructure located between Meadville Convalescent Home and Franklin County High School.

Work, which will necessitate closure of the road for the replacement of aging sewer pipes, was slated to begin on Monday, April 18.

• Discussed tentative plans for and adopted a resolution in support of the local National Day of Prayer observance set for Thursday, May 5.

“We are working with Meadville Baptist Church to have this year’s event there,” Reed told the panel.

“It’s a little early to announce all of the plans for it, but we are working now to get it organized.”

• Gave permission for a community request to hold a Memorial Day parade that will take place at 4:30 p.m., Saturday, May 28.

• Spread upon the minutes an annual review and certification of the town’s water and sewer policies as required by the Mississippi Department of Health.

• Heard a report from Reed related to the town’s current level of infrastructure indebtedness totaling $12,024.73 on a Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality sewer loan and $71,346.41 on a U.S. Department of Agriculture water tank loan.

• Discussed continuing efforts to obtain an emergency power generator for the town’s No. 3 water well with Reed noting he has been in constant contact with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to seek any available funding assistance for the project.

• Approved several community recognitions, including naming April as National Pecan Month in the municipality and honoring Municipal Clerks’ Week May 1-7, Police Week May 15-21 and Public Works Week May 15-21.

• The Meadville Fire Department reported it had responded to 27 calls since Jan. 1 — averaging about eight responses per month.

The Meadville Board of Aldermen will meet at 5 p.m., Monday, April 25 at town hall to discuss their options related to Mississippi’s Medical Cannabis Act.
The panel’s next regular business meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 10.