The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation - Lower Colorado Basin Regional Office Area announced that it will award Boulder City $75,000 in Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow (WaterSMART) funds to upgrade more than 300 “manual read” residential and commercial meters to an automatic meter reading system. The grant covers 50-percent of the total cost of $150,000 for the upgrades. The City Utilities Fund will pay the other 50-percent - $75,000. This is the first phase of scheduled replacement, with plans to replace all 5,000 meters in Boulder City.
Communities and agencies that provide water delivery can take on projects that have been prioritized through Small-Scale Water Efficiency Projects like this. “This project will increase the reliability of water supplies and improve water management.,” Stubitz said. “I truly appreciate the support we’ve received from City Council and U.S. Rep. Susie Lee on requesting and obtaining this funding. I plan to explore using additional grant funding for future phases of the replacement.”
The western United States is experiencing its worst drought this century, and Lake Mead is at the lowest levels in history. “The new meters will capture customers’ water usage data by radio transmission,” said City Manager Taylour Tedder. “These meters will report more accurate water usage data, as well as save City staff time, since they will spend less time walking to homes and businesses to manually read and record meters.”
“With Lake Mead and the Colorado River currently experiencing water shortages, it is critical that we make a concerted effort to conserve the water we have,” said Senator Rosen. “I applaud the Bureau of Reclamation for funding these grants in Nevada and other western states in an effort to improve water efficiency and resiliency within communities. I will continue working to support programs like this one that will upgrade water use data and management, help cut down on water waste, and bolster conservation efforts in our state.”
The goals of this project include conserving and using water more efficiently; mitigating conflict risk in areas at a high risk of future water conflict; and accomplishing other benefits that contribute to water supply reliability in the western United States. “WaterSMART grants are essential to ensuring that states that are susceptible to drought, like Nevada, have the resources necessary to more efficiently conserve water,” said Rep. Lee. “I fought to increase funding for the WaterSMART program, and I am looking forward to seeing Boulder City use this grant to upgrade its water meters and safeguard our state's precious water resources.”
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