San Benito Plans to Replace Water Meters
Posted on: Tuesday, 26 July 2005, 15:00 CDT
Jul. 26--SAN BENITO -- The city plans to replace almost 5,000 business and residential water meters that were installed before 1997 in order to get accurate reports on water usage.
In a letter sent to two-thirds of its 6,200 water customers, city leaders said that "about 24 percent of the water used by our customers has gone unbilled due to the under-calculations of the meters."
City leaders mailed the letters about rising water and sewer rates and the need for meter replacement recently, but as of Friday, the utility department had only sent the letters to two-thirds of its customers.
Sam Gallegos, the city's project manager for utilities, said that those in the third billing cycle should receive letters soon.
"While some customers have been paying their full share all along, those with older meters may have been underpaying," the letter continued. "For the customers with older meters, the new meters may mean an increase in their water and sewer bill."
According to the letter, the new meters would assure that customers "pay exactly for the volume of water used."
The city planned to have the old meters replaced by October, but City Manager Victor Trevino said that no bids for the meter installation contract were received.
Gallegos said that a bid was expected soon and that the city had already purchased 4,875 Sensus SR water meters at $40.67 apiece. The new meters are equipped with tamperproof features and under normal conditions would need maintenance every 15 years, according to the company's Web site.
Trevino said that city workers would contact the customers whose meters are being replaced and will answer questions on the new water and sewer rates. Gallegos said there are no plans to replace meters that were installed in 1997 or later.
Trevino said that customers will not be charged for the installation and that water will be cut off only temporarily during the process.
"Most of them will take just a few minutes," he said. "You disconnect the old one and you put in the new one."
Water may be shut off longer if a line breaks or if the city needs to work longer on underground or off-level meters, Trevino said.
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Source: Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, Texas)
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