WALDPORT — Contractors have begun installing radio towers to begin the city of Waldport’s $385,000 project to replace 1,400 water meters.
The project was authorized last spring by the city council.
The new system will use radio signals to communicate with the meters remotely, so that they can be read from City Hall.
“We currently spend days manually reading meters across the entire city, and often are required to ‘reread’ multiple meters due to questionable readings,” said city manager Dann Cutter. “Often the rereads are undetected leaks, resulting in hundreds of dollars of charges to customers and a lot of wasted water.”
Cutter said the new system will allow the city to more quickly spot leaks and other spikes in water use “saving everyone a lot of money and water.”
Cutter said the replacement project is entirely funded though external sources and will not add to the water rates. Along with a water tank repair project funded by the 2021 Legislature, he said “these projects represent nearly $2.5 million in recently acquired funding for water improvements.”
“Being able to fund this without an impact to ratepayers is critically important,” Cutter said. “With over $20 million in looming required improvements, every bit counts.”
Again, congratulations to Waldport for a job well done.