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Blackstone weighs $1 million meter replacement after DEP tightens monitoring
Summary
Commissioners said the DEP recommends replacing aging meters and tightening withdrawal reporting; the commission discussed options to fund a townwide replacement—estimated at about $1,000,000—through a capital article or adding costs to water bills and agreed to prepare detailed cost estimates for Town Meeting.
The Town of Blackstone Water & Sewer Commission discussed on June 13 how to respond after the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection recommended closer meter monitoring and recommended meter replacement on roughly a 10-year cadence.
Commission staff said the town is being urged to modernize meters to meet withdrawal-permit reporting and sanitary-survey expectations. Staff estimated replacing all meters in town could cost approximately $1,000,000. Commissioners discussed financing options, including presenting a capital article or bond at Town Meeting, or phasing costs into quarterly water bills.
Members stressed the need to get more precise estimates and to prepare presentation materials for voters: a capital funding proposal would be a Town Meeting item and require planning and pricing in the coming year. Staff also described competing technology options: a full townwide replacement with new remote-reading "beacon" hardware and associated software (which would allow automated reads and earlier leak detection) versus targeted, as-needed replacements using existing meter bodies where compatible.
Commissioners noted operational trade-offs: older meters tend to slow and undercount (reducing recorded revenue), while new meters may immediately capture more usage and raise bills for some customers. The commission directed staff to collect prices and vendor bids to present options and costs in time to propose a funding plan at the next Town Meeting cycle. No binding financing decision was made at the June 13 meeting.
