New and improved water meters installed West Columbia

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Residents who live in West Columbia can expect a change in their water bills soon. Crews have started installing new water meters which are designed to track water usage instantly.

People who live in West Columbia could expect to see door hangers on their front door notifying them of new water meters being put in place.

The black disk on top of West Columbia water meters is making a big difference around the town. Some residents in the area are concerned about what impact the new meters may bring.

“If this is cost saving project, then I might go along with it. But at the same time, if my water bill goes up higher than it is, I’m not gonna be real pleased. I have no insurance that that’s not gonna happen but we’ll hold our breath on that one,” said West Columbia resident Mike Dubard.

According to city hall officials, the new meters are installed to get more accurate readings for the customers. The goal is to get the readings electronically that come back every 15 minutes.

The meters have a transmitter that is placed on the top of the meter and it transmits the information back to city hall to servers where it is later analyzed by the software. The information would then notify the customer of the amount of water used in their home.

This has been in the planning stages for 10 years and Anna Huffman, the town’s director of public relations spoke on the importance of the project to help improve the water needs in West Columbia.

“This project is important because we want to make sure that the city’s infrastructure and water needs are being met and constantly improved and this is one step in that in order to do that,” said Huffman.

Ferguson Waterworks is working with the city of West Columbia on this project. Huffman says the company began installing the new meters in July of this year and the project is expected to be completed by next spring. Residents who have any questions or issues relating to the upgrade can call (844)-529-5913.

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