In Mayor Fuller’s March 24 Newsletter, the headline item was the residential and business water meter replacement program. In it, Mayor Fuller stated, “The lifespan of the water meters in our homes and businesses is about 10 years.”
This struck me as absurd. An industrial component such as a water meter should have a lifespan of at least 20 years, if not longer. It would have been irresponsible for previous administrations to have purchased and installed equipment such as this with such a short expected life.
The City’s own records show that the expected lifespan of our water meters is not 10 years, but 20 years! Speaking at the Public Facilities Committee meeting on February 19, 2020, the City’s Director of Utilities Ted Jerdee answered the question:
Q: How long do residential meters last?
A: Mr. Jerdee explained that the lifespan is 20 years and the meters are currently at 10 years.
My understanding is that the City is engaged in litigation, or at least negotiation, with the manufacturer of these meters precisely because they are failing well before they should be. Why would our Mayor position this replacement as “normal”? Such public statements could damage our legal or negotiating position with the manufacturer.
Administration officials have stated that “there is no charge to customers for a standard installation,” but as the cost is rolled into our water and sewer rates, those costs are covered by all the ratepayers, which of course is virtually all of us. This is a misleading and disingenuous way of describing the true situation.
Dan Proskauer
