Henderson Water Utility Water Meter Replacement Project
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HWU has hired a contractor to begin installing meters in the areas show above.
What You Can Expect
A door hanger will be left on your door a day or two prior to our installers replacing your meter. Please be patient – it is never easy to predict circumstances that might speed up or delay the installations.
Depending on the condition of your current meter, you may or may not experience an increase in your bill. The need for this project is to capture the usage of water that is used by every customer. A meter with moving parts never improves over time. As the parts wear out, the meter registers less water flowing through it. Water Utilities, on average, lose approximately 15% of revenue. A significant portion is water flowing through customer meters not being registered.
Most importantly, you may have air in your water line after the new meter is installed. This air can be flushed out by running cold water through a faucet for a few minutes.
Project overview
The Henderson Water Utility started replacing more than 10,000 residential and small commercial water meters, beginning in fall 2020. This project is expected to take about 3 years as we spread the cost and work out over that time. The new meters will replace aging infrastructure, reduce maintenance costs and improve customer service by giving customers more timely information about their water usage. This meter replacement project is one of many projects the city is investing in to provide safe, reliable water and wastewater service for current and future generations.
Meter Replacement Staff
HWU will replace all water meters throughout the entire city starting in fall of 2020 and completion by fall of 2023. Contract installers, will be easily identifiable, will be performing the work during normal business hours on Monday through Friday, and should have no reason to enter your residence. If you have any concerns about the identity of those performing this service or the work being performed, call HWU at 270-826-2421.
Meter replacement process
Residents will receive a door tag prior to work in their neighborhood. Installers will visit every residential property to replace the water meter housed in a meter pit covered by a lid in the front yard. Since the meter is outside, installers do not need to enter homes and residents do not need to be present when they replace the meter. If a resident is home and using water, the installer will coordinate with the resident to shut water service off for 30 to 45 minutes while they replace the meter or come back later. Residents will receive a notice on their door when the meter replacement is complete at their property.
Please clear your meter pit
Meter pits are covered by a lid and are typically located two to six feet from the back of the sidewalk or curb. Residents are asked to provide clear and unobstructed access to the water meter pits on their property.
All meter pits need to be clear of any obstructions to within three feet horizontally and five feet vertically of any shrubs, plants, and trees, as well as six inches of any landscaping material taller than four inches. Any sod growing near meter pits should be maintained as to not obstruct access to the meter pits. Any object(s) that would prohibit HWU staff from gaining access to the meter pits must be removed. It is critical that this area is properly maintained for this program’s success and regular and emergency access.
Please be aware that if installers are unable to perform their duties, they will be forced to make the proper corrections to complete them.
Project Benefits
Residents will have more detailed information about their water consumption and will be able to sign up to receive automatic leak notifications in the future.
By replacing outdated meters, the city will also reduce labor and equipment costs associated with meter reading and maintenance and will be able to track water usage more accurately.
Over time, meters become less accurate and can provide inaccurate readings, typically under registering consumption. It is a common misunderstanding that a new water meter raises someone’s rates and makes more money for the water utility. In reality, it only enables the utility to accurately bill for and recover the cost of a customer’s full usage.
Project timeline
The meter replacement project began in October 2020 with 1,000 meter installations in several major subdivisions that now require manual meter reads: Balmoral, Frontier, Summer Hill, and Stepping Stone, and Wood Terrace.
This “Phase 2” project includes Wolf Hills, Grantwood, Gray Stone, Braxton Park, The Hills, Watson Lane, and Bellewood.