BBWSD completes automated water meter installation

Birch Bay Water and Sewer District (BBWSD) has finished its nearly $2 million automated water meter installation project. The meters are expected to detect leaks more quickly, which will help with water conservation and save taxpayers money.

BBWSD announced November 2 that it completed the project in October after three years of installation. The automated radio-read network gives more accurate readings and provides more data on the water flow rate. Previously, BBWSD employees would use a long probe to read meters every two months but now BBWSD employees are able to read the meters from their vehicles weekly.

“Customers can call us and we can run a data log on their usage,” BBWSD finance director Sandi McMillan said. “If they suspect their high bill was something they can control, we’ll run a data log for the whole week.”

About 129 leaks per year were detected in the five-year average before the new meters, according to BBWSD. But an average of 196 leaks per year have been detected since the new meters began being installed, which is a 50 percent increase in detected leaks. McMillan said it’s difficult to gauge the amount of money customers are saving as more leaks are detected, but estimated, for example, something like a leaky toilet flapper, which is a common issue, could save someone about $50 to $130 per month, depending on the leak size. 

McMillan said BBWSD had an employee checking on meters every day during the freeze last winter so the district could alert people of breaks.

In 2018, the Washington state Public Works Board approved the $2 million capital project, which BBWSD finished with about $200,000 to spare. The state’s public works board set a 1.5 percent annual rate for 20 years to pay off the project, which McMillan said was a very attractive rate as municipal bond market rates are currently 3 to 5 percent. 

BBWSD and its contracted I&I Pipe Services began replacing over 5,400 water meters, all of which were at least 15 years old, in 2019. A small percentage of newer meters didn’t need to be replaced and were set up to the radio-reading system.

BBWSD has about 8,000 connections in its 12-square-mile service area, McMillan said.

“The water department wants to thank all our customers that we impacted by the project, whether from water service interruptions to digging in their yards or blocking driveways,” wrote Charlie Hagin, of BBWSD’s water department, in a statement. “The cooperation and understanding we experienced was so appreciated by all our staff.”