Henderson Water Utility Water Meter Replacement Project
Click here to open the map in a new tab.
HWU has hired a contractor to install meters in the abovementioned areas.
What You Can Expect
A door hanger will be left on your door a day or two before our installers replace your meter. Please be patient – predicting circumstances that might speed up or delay the installations is never easy.
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 every customer uses. A meter with moving parts becomes less accurate over time. As the parts wear out, the meter registers less water. 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 installing the new meter. 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 in the fall of 2020. This project will take about three 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 city starting in the fall of 2020 and complete by the fall of 2024. Contract installers will be easily identifiable, will be performing the work during regular 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 before work in their neighborhood. Installers will visit every residential property to replace the water meter 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 the 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.
A lid covers meter pits and is typically 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 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 not to 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 correctly maintained for this program’s success and regular and emergency access.
Please be aware that if installers cannot 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 can 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 total usage.
Project Timeline
The meter replacement project began in October 2020 with 1,000 meter installations in several major subdivisions requiring manual meter reads Balmoral, Frontier, Summer Hill, Stepping Stone, and Wood Terrace.
This “Phase 2” project includes Wolf Hills, Grantwood, Gray Stone, Braxton Park, The Hills, Watson Lane, and Bellewood.