Outdated, failing water meters to be replaced citywide

Water Department Superintendent Todd Ihde holds an old water meter (left) and a new water meter (right). The old meter contains moving parts which should spin freely as water flows through the cylinder, but those parts fail as they become worn out, break or mineral deposits build up on them. The new meter is ultrasonic and does not have moving parts, but instead uses a signal to measure water movement and depth. That data is then sent via a transponder to a central database that is monitored 24/7. (Photo by Denise Lana)

By Denise Lana,

New water meters for all Decorah residences and businesses are expected to be installed by mid-fall this year, as the city is weeks away from finalizing the project’s budget and funding. New high-tech meters will replace antiquated ones, which city staff hopes will all but eliminate water loss and provide more accurate water bills for residents. 

Typically replaced every 10 years, many meters in the city were installed 25 years ago and have more than served their useful lifespan, according to Water Department Superintendent Todd Ihde, who has worked with the city nearly 35 years. The parts inside the meter are worn out and are slow-moving, he said, resulting in inaccurate readings for billing purposes as well as city water loss reports. 

“If you turn a faucet on just a little bit to fill a glass with water, not a huge volume of water is going through that meter and sometimes with an old meter, it won’t pick up the trickle of water running through,” Ihde said. 

“The way we read meters now, if we read your meter the first week of January, and you had a toilet that started leaking the second week of January, you wouldn’t know unless you caught it or until we read your meter again in April,” Ihde said. “In a three-month period, it really adds up. You’re talking thousands of gallons.”

Full article available in the February 20 Decorah Leader. 

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