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Augusta utilities secure low-interest GEFA loan for meter replacement; committee approves grant-writing funds
Summary
The Engineering and Utilities committees approved accepting a GEFA low-interest loan for a countywide advanced metering infrastructure project and funded additional grant-writing services to pursue water and wastewater investment. The plan is phased and aims to improve metering accuracy and leak detection.
Augusta’s Utilities Division reported March 9 that it received conditional approval for a low-interest GEFA loan to help fund a countywide replacement of water meters with ultrasonic advanced metering infrastructure. Utilities staff said the project will roll out in phases (completion targets through 2031) and that the meters already installed (about 3,000 to date) are improving billing accuracy and enabling leak detection.
Assistant Director Chad Hendricks told the Engineering committee the loan supplements earlier bond-authorized funding and would be used to reimburse initial material purchases. The utility expects improved revenue capture, more accurate consumption data and earlier detection of customer-side leaks once the new meters are widely deployed.
The committee also approved an amendment to a grant-writing contract (additional $245,000) to support pursuit of multiple funding opportunities, including Corps of Engineers low-interest programs and other infrastructure grants targeting headworks repairs, the diversion dam on the Augusta Canal, and water/wastewater system upgrades. Utilities said several opportunities are already at pre‑approval stages and the funding will expand the department’s ability to compete for large infrastructure awards.
Finally, the committee approved a Georgia Department of Transportation utility agreement to address a water main that sits in a planned DOT right-of-way and to secure relocation funding if the main must be moved as part of roadwork.
Why it matters: The meter replacement is intended to increase billing accuracy and reduce nonrevenue water; the GEFA loan reduces borrowing costs. The grant-writing expansion is designed to increase the city’s capacity to secure external capital for high-cost water and wastewater repairs.
What’s next: Utilities will continue phased installations, draw down GEFA funds as eligible starting in May, and pursue grant applications with the expanded grant-writing support.
