HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 8841INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
Ark.
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
No. 8841
Page 1 of 1
SUBJECT: Water Department Meter Replacement Program
The purpose of this Informal Report is to provide information to the City Council regarding an
M&C on this week's agenda recommending a purchase agreement for water meters and
installation services.
Background:
One of the apparent water and revenue loss issues stated in the 10 -Year Water Conservation
Master Plan was that water losses appeared to be rising slowly over time as the percentage of
meter inaccuracies continued to rise.
The Water Department conducted a review of the City's 200,000+ residential water meters as
part of the water conservation and the system optimization study. The review included an
extensive analysis and testing which revealed that the overall meter accuracy level was 96.4 %.
The goal for meter accuracy is 99 %. The review also noted that meters over 15 years of age,
exceeding the manufacturer's performance guarantee, could be significantly under - registering
water flows.
A 10 -Year Meter Replacement Program has been developed to implement an ongoing meter
replacement program. The objective is to have no meters in the system that exceed 15 years of
age as time progresses to ensure that each customer's usage is accurately tracked and billed.
The recent meter inventory review found:
• 34,267 meters in the system identified were 20+ years old
• 19,893 meters were 15 to 19 years old
A total of 54,160 meters (all meters 15 to 20+ years old) are currently at significant risk of under -
registering consumption usage. This limits the ability for the Water Department to accurately plan
for true water demands and to collect appropriate revenues to offset costs of service. With the
progressive aging infrastructure, it has been identified that over 30,000 additional meters will be
in the 15+ year age category by 2009.
For some customers that have older meters, there is the probability that they could see an
increase in registered consumption. Prior to the replacing of any meters, the Water Public
Education staff will conduct several public meetings and will also be sending out informational
brochures to customers to explain the meter replacement program and answer as many
M ::Z61- possible.
Charles R. Boswell
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER
FORT WORTH, TEXAS