During their regular meeting on Monday, June 24, City Council approved three purchases critical for the water and wastewater utility to continue providing clean, safe and reliable water to the city's residents and businesses.

The first approval was for the replacement of every residential water meter in the city. Water meters are the infrastructure that measure customers' water consumption, collecting essential data for the city’s monthly billing purposes, and for customers to monitor and manage their water use. The existing water meters were installed in 2006 and 2007 and are mechanical devices with moving parts that wear out over time and have now exceeded their 10-year useful life. The new meters utilize magnetic technologies that will increase meter accuracy, extend useful life to 15 years, and allow for a future internet portal, from which customers will be able to access daily water use data. Robust community outreach is also included with the meter replacement project to provide educational information to customers about the project and work that will be done on their property. Up to $14,000,000 will be spent to replace nearly 31,000 water meters. Installation will begin in the summer of 2019 and be completed by late 2020.

The second approval was for a key tool used to monitor for algae and invasive species in Standley Lake. As the city’s sole drinking water supply,  excessive algae in Standley Lake can cause water treatment issues, taste and odor complaints and produce harmful toxins. By closely monitoring water quality in the lake, the city improves water treatment efficiency, reduces the cost of water treatment and ultimately delivers higher quality water to customers. The existing monitoring device has been in place for 10 years, and is reaching the end of its useful life. Up to $80,000 will be spent in 2019 to replace this device and keep it operating properly.

The third approval was for the purchase of new sensors and controllers. Over time, and through continual use, equipment  wears out or becomes obsolete at the city’s two water treatment plants, one wastewater plant and one reclaimed water treatment plant. This sensor and controller equipment operates automatically or remotely, ensuring consistent, high water quality monitoring and production.  Up to $150,000 will be spent in 2019 to replace worn out and obsolete equipment.