New state-of-the-art water meters that will provide accurate, real-time readings of how much water Lathrop’s residential customers use are on the way.
The Lathrop City Council approved a consent calendar item that will allow city staff to purchase the remaining 3,506 water meters in the city that have not yet been updated – approving the expenditure of $436,760 and a contingency of $43,676 to modernize the aging system.
According to the staff report that was prepared for the council, the proposal purchase marks the fourth phase of water meter modernization undertaken by the city since the Lathrop City Council approved the capital improvement project in 2013 – replacing 1,375 of the meters in the first two phases and 700 meters during the third.
The new meters will allow for wireless meter reading and real-time monitoring of water usage – something that will give the city accurate, up-to-the-minute information about trends in water usage and ways that conservation can be implemented in order to meet the state’s recommended reductions.
While an abundance of rain and a healthy snowpack in the Central Sierra has thwarted California’s drought concerns as of now, Lathrop has continued to monitor water usage per the state’s recommendations ever since the historic drought nearly drained reservoirs and placed a massive burden on ground wells for urban and agricultural uses throughout the San Joaquin Valley.
The bid for the new water meters was one of only two that Lathrop received when advertising for companies capable of carrying out the work – coming in at almost $65,000 below that of the closest contractor. The cost of the meters and the additional equipment necessary to transmit readings to the city is just under $405,000. An additional $72,000 for a field investigation of user service lines that is connected to the project is also going to be transferred from the city’s existing water community improvement project fund to assist in tracking of expenditures pertaining to the project.
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.
