(The Center Square) — Bossier City reportedly has around 2,600 water meters in the city that are not reading correctly, with an estimated $3 million in replacement costs, though Chief Administrative Officer Amanda Nottingham said this price is outdated.
For the 2,600 meters that are not reading correctly, the city is estimating water usage based on the previous six months of billing. If they were to replace all 2,600, it would take approximately a year to make up the losses, with projected revenue at $2.6 million.
On Tuesday, the city council voted in favor of introducing an ordinance that would allocate $250,000 to purchase on-demand water meters. Before voting, the council requested a writeup of how much funding is needed to replace all 2,600 meters throughout the city.
The funds for the $250,000 will come from the Water Capital and Contingency Fund if the ordinance passes final reading.
While the city isn’t looking to replace all of the water meters in need right now, due to an estimated $20 million price tag, they have been exploring various funding options over the past few years.
“If we can get the initial meter replacement done with phase one, we do believe we will bring in a substantial amount of revenue that would then help fund the other phases of the replacements,” said Nottingham to the city council. “It is something that we are working to incorporate for the 2026 budget.”
According to Nottingham, the goal is to replace commercial meters that are no longer working first, then move to replace other meters citywide.
Nottingham did say that the $3 million price is outdated, and they are meeting next week to get some updated numbers. Tariffs have reportedly impacted the price of meters the city purchases.
