Old fittings make some water meter swaps pricey

PRINCETON — More than half of the 4,200 water meters in Princeton have been changed out with new automated meters, but contractors ran into an unexpected number of crumbling 19th century fittings that make the replacement more expensive.



Johnson Controls engineer Chris Downs told the Princeton Board of Public Works and Safety Monday that 2,500 meters have been replaced with automated devices that will allow meter readers to check them via computer radio signal. The new meters also feature diagnostics for leaks on the customer side, or tampering, and can help the city track trends in water usage.





But the big challenge in the otherwise smooth-operating project has been the discovery of about 700 meters with collars made in the 1800s. Downs said some settings are crumbling when the meters are changed out, and excavation has been required. That’s an additional $600 or so to repair, per instance, he estimated.



Downs said the company is working with crews to minimize the cost for the additional work, looking to recoup some money by selling the old meters for scrap, and allocating some contingency funds for the project.



The problems were unexpected because a sampling of 200 or so meters found only one old fitting. The number of old galvanized iron yokes was a surprise, said Johnson Controls spokesman Tom Hogan. “The program’s going really well, outside of this issue.” Hogan said seeing the old iron last as long as it has is a testament to good maintenance and water quality, but said most of the old iron uncovered is brittle.



Crews are “exercising special care when we do run across them,” he said. The meter replacement work began this summer. The city approved the project in June 2008, after Johnson Controls did the engineering and guaranteed the project would pay for itself with the revenue generated from more accurate usage measurements.

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The company projects a $330,000 excess cash flow in the water department that should pay for the project in 15 years. The meters are guaranteed for 20 years.



Johnson Controls estimated this summer that the project could save the city $4 million in the long run with more efficient and accurate water meters.



In other business at Monday’s board of works session, members authorized an environmental company to drill groundwater monitoring wells, if required, on Ohio Street near the Mid-States Rubber company.



Board members Mayor Bob Hurst and Kathy Cowling agreed to install one meter for lighting on the pocket park on Emerson Street, picking up the cost for electric usage for the half of the lot, which was sold by the city to Jim Seaton. Seaton donated lights from the old Evansville Executive Inn to be used on the back side of the city-owned portion of the lot.



Hurst also reported that the Indiana Dept. of Transportation has ordered CSX Transportation Inc. to install signals at the Makemson Street railroad crossing within 12 months or face a $1,000 daily fine past that time.

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