(The Center Square) – After voting in favor of an ordinance to appropriate a starting amount of $250,000 for on-demand water meters, the Bossier City Council introduced another ordinance to appropriate $3 million to replace all the meters that are not reading.
Previously, there were an estimated 2,600 meters, both commercial and residential, in need of replacement throughout the city because they were not reading properly. The department was estimating water usage using the past six months of billing on the account.
“The quote is for 3,370 meters. So, it’s actually slightly more than what we estimate we will need, but we know that between now and when the project is completed, there will be additional meters,” said Chief Administrative Officer Amanda Nottingham.
According to Nottingham, the $3 million price tag includes labor, programming, data imports and customer notifications through a third-party contractor.
The estimated timeframe of phase one, once the ordinance is finalized, will be six months, and phase two will be introduced in the 2026 Bossier City budget.
There are 1,754 residential meters not reading, with 88 of those meters outside the city limits and not on Bossier sewer, and 859 commercial meters not reading.
Once the meters are replaced, the department will begin including the replacements in the budget to get on a timed schedule. The new meters have a 15-year full warranty and a five-year prorated warranty.
