DPW director urges selectmen to support new water meters

Wayland Town Crier 3/11/10: DPW director urges selectmen to support new water meters. Don Ouellette, director of Wayland’s Department of Public Works, persuasively urged the Board of Selectmen on Monday to support the installation of a fixed network system for water meter readings later this year. The measure will be up for a vote at Town Meeting in May. Water meters, Ouellette said, which were last installed in Wayland in 1996 and 1997, have a life expectancy of 12 to 15 years. Regardless of whether the town decides to remain with its present drive-by system, or adopt newer technology, the meters will have to be replaced in the near future. In order to go to the new system, Ouellette continued, the town will need to install new boxes over the existing ones. He estimated the cost to make this replacement this summer at $621,000 and would enable readings 3-4 times/day. Savings would result from quick identification of aberrations in usage patterns, virtually eliminating undetected leaks (and resulting write-offs), and reducing personnel time dealing with complaints over excessive bills. It would also help identify meter tampering and water ban violations.