07-27-2005 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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MAYOR Bill Blesener COUNCIL Jim LaValle Ricic Montour Barbara Allan John Reis 515 Little Canada Road, Little Canada, MN 55117-1600 ADMINISTRATOR (651) 766 -4029 / FAX: (651) 766 -4048 Joel R. Hanson www. ci.little- canacla. mn. us MEMORANDUM To: Mayor Blesener & Members of City Council From: Bill Dircks, Public Works Superintendent Date: July 20, 2005 Re: Water Meter Replacement Background: As our city ages our water meters throughout the city are approaching and, in some cases, surpassing their useful life. It is generally accepted throughout the industry that water meters slow down and allow un- metered water through after 15 -20 years in a home or business. With that in mind, staff has been looking into a way to make meter reading more efficient and accurate as we begin to replace more and more of our existing meters. Our meter system based upon age breaks down as follows: tt Meters 84 /Before % 85 - 89 % 90 - 94 % 95 /Newer Residential 1782 382 21.4% 387 21.7% 301 16.9% 712 40.0% Commercial 259 89 34.4% 51 19.7% 22 8.5% 97 37.5% Fire Detection 127 35 27.6% 38 29.9% 15 11.8% 39 30.7% Multi - Family 37 18 48.6% 5 13.5% 5 13.5% 9 24.3% Institutional 12 5 41.7% 1 8.3% 0 0.0% 6 50.0% Irrigation 69 8 11.6% 10 14.5% 11 15.9% 40 58.0% Industrial 5 1 20.0% 0 0.0% 3 60.0% 1 20.0% Totals 2291 538 23.5% 492 21.5% 357 15.6% 904 39.4% As one can readily see, 24% of our meters are over 20 years old and 45% are over 15 years of age. Our initial focus on replacement will be on those meters 20 years and older. Efficiency Issues: One issue we deal with in our water meters is the efficiency of installation and on -going maintenance. Currently, public works runs a wire from the water meter inside the house to the outside of the house where they attach a remote for the meter readers to read and record the water usage without having to enter the house. Recently, public works has been installing touch pad remotes that read exactly what the inside meter reads. The old -style remotes were moved by a pulse sent through the wire from the inside meter. That led to problems if the wire failed, the generator on the meter head failed, or the remote stopped due to conditions outside the house. The touch pad remotes have eliminated most of these