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Phenix City says contractor hired as widespread leaks and meter failures leave about 10% of meters unread
Summary
City staff told the Phenix City Council that staffing shortages and equipment failures have left roughly 10% of water meters unread (about 1,600), prompted estimated billing, and led the city to hire an independent contractor and triage repairs.
Phenix City officials told the City Council they have increased repairs after staffing shortages and equipment failures left about 10% of the water-meter system unread, producing estimated bills for affected customers.
City staff said the council authorized a bid process and that an independent contractor has been hired to address leaks and meter repairs. The city is triaging repairs by volume and prioritizing larger leaks first; staff said they are repairing “somewhere around 30 plus leaks, a month, to to get repaired.”
The issue dates to failures in the automated meter-reading system that accelerated in 2015–2016, staff said. Staff described a hardware or register problem that caused devices to emit signals far more frequently than intended until their batteries died, reducing the system’s ability to collect readings. That fault, staff said, led the billing system to create estimated bills when signals were not received.
Staff reported that roughly 10% of meters — “roughly 1,600 meters” — were not being read and that some customers received bills that undercounted water use for extended periods. “When the battery dies, the truck riding around can't pick up a signal. Right. There's no signal. And what happens is that the computer system, when a signal's not received, it creates an estimated bill,” a staff member said.
Officials described a multi-step response: contracting outside help after council authorization, continuing on‑site repairs prioritized by leak volume, and notifying customers when bills will reflect corrected readings. Staff said repairs completed since December have addressed many leaks and that crews follow a triage system to determine repair order.
Discussion focused on operational limits and sequencing rather than new policy: staff said the city is accelerating repairs because of staffing shortages in the utilities department and has been directed by the council to proceed with contractor assistance. No ordinance or rate change was proposed in the portions of the meeting that addressed the meter and leak issues.
City staff said affected customers saw catch‑up charges spread onto later bills after estimated-billing periods; staff noted that January bills would cover prior underestimates in at least some cases. Officials did not provide a complete timeline for when all unread meters will be fully restored to normal reading or the total cost of the contractor work.
Phenix City staff said they would continue repairs and work through the backlog while communicating with customers about bill adjustments.
