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Portageville modernizes water meters
PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. - The nearly 1,300 water meters are in place. The city staff is trained on the software. Portageville is making the jump to a modernize water meter system.
According to Portageville Mayor Vince Berry, the City Council has discussed upgrading its water meter system for the past eight to 10 years. A decision was made in 2021 to leave their old analog system behind.
“City Hall and the Board are always looking for ways to be more efficient when spending city resources,” Berry said. “The biggest advantage to the new system is the efficiency.”
With the old system, an employee would spend days walking from meter to meter recording water usage. The meter readings would be recorded into a book then typed into another program. There was always a possibility of a meter being misread or a number recorded incorrectly, Berry said.
The digital system automates the entire process.
Berry explained each meter reports four times a day to city hall the amount of water used. If a meter records more than 12 hours of continuous water usage it alerts city officials and an app which can be downloaded by homeowners will alert them as well.
“So the accuracy of bill is pretty much guaranteed,” Berry said. “And instead of finding out 30 days later you have $1,000 water bill due to an undetected leak or someone left a hose running you will know almost immediately and can adjust from there.”
The $340,000 cost to implement the new system is expected to pay for itself.
“If the cost analysis is correct, we anticipate having the costs paid back in the first three to four years,” the mayor said.
First, he noted, workers will no longer be assigned to reading meters.
He emphasized there will be no jobs lost due to the modernization. Instead, workers will be reassigned to other jobs such as fixing leaks.
That, he added, is another benefit of the system; water will be conserved rather than lost through leaks.
In addition, officials were aware the analog meters had slowed as they aged and were no longer providing an accurate reading. The new meters will provide a better look at actual water usage throughout the community.
With the upgrade in metering, Berry said the only increase in cost to customers is an .80 cent per month per account technology fee for the cellular service.
In late fall 10 test meters were installed, including one at Berry’s house.
He said he was pleased with the performance of the digital service and expects other Portageville residents will be as well.
“This gives the customer the ability to know what they are spending and how,” Berry said. “It puts them in control of their water usage.”