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Town to install water meters in mobile homes

Dec 4, 2017 | 9:43 PM

The Town of Battleford plans to install new water meters in mobile homes and pick up the tab for the project.

Council approved the recommendation at its last regular meeting. Starting in January 2018, mobile home water meters will be replaced at an estimated cost of $65,000. 

“I think it will be good for everybody,” Mayor Ames Leslie said. “Council had asked there is no cost to the mobile-home owner. The town is going to bear the cost of this whole change-over.” 

The new meters, which staff can now read remotely, will be installed inside residents’ homes to protect the devices from the elements, and also to ensure they continue to provide accurate readings.

Currently, the older meters are installed outside, underneath the mobile homes.

Town staff estimated the cost for each new meter at close to $600, plus the additional cost for labour.   

CAO John Enns-Wind said the existing meters are reaching their life expectancy and many of them are not giving correct readings. He added these are the last homes in town that needed the remotely-read meters.

Enns-Wind estimated the town loses about $21,000 in revenue per billing cycle as staff can’t physically read the meters buried under the mobile homes. The cost  to install a new water meter inside a mobile home would cost less than what it would cost to repair, maintain, and replace an existing water meter that’s damaged by the elements.

 

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

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