Woodsboro to install new water meter reading system
Oct. 14—The outdated system the town of Woodsboro uses to read water meters — which is more than a decade old — will soon get a facelift.
At the town meeting on Tuesday, the three commissioners in attendance voted unanimously to spend $204,257 to update the town's water meter reading system.
Commissioner Bud Eckenrode did not attend.
The town will use federal funding it received from the American Rescue Plan Act to pay for the new system, which will be installed by Frederick's Ferguson Waterworks.
As of Tuesday, the town had about $643,000 from its overall American Rescue Plan Act funding remaining.
The new meter reading system will allow residents to pay their water bill electronically, using the town's website.
The money the commissioners voted to spend will also cover the purchase of extra meters to store in house, in case one breaks, and replace the meter at Woodsboro Elementary School, which hasn't been updated in years.
Since water meters are mainly stationed inside residents' homes in Woodsboro, Ferguson Waterworks will contact residents to schedule a time to visit their home and complete the update.
It's a big liability to enter residents' homes — one the town is happy to avoid by having Ferguson complete the installation instead of the town's own maintenance staff, Woodsboro Burgess Heath Barnes said.
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