Boerne preparing to swap out thousands of water meters

More than 7,000 residential and commercial water and gas meters will be swapped out beginning next month, according to city officials.

The city has contracted with Envocore-RTS Water Solutions to replace 5,200 water meters and 2,000 gas modules, Boerne Operations Manager Nick Montagno told Boerne City Council at its Sept. 24 meeting.

The replacements will begin Oct. 1 and take eight to 12 months to complete, Montagno said, with work being broken down into six zones within the city, completing one zone before moving to another.

Customers will be receiving a mailer informing them of the project, and what to expect. A temporary call center has been established to handle questions and inquiries about the meters and the installation process.

“Those meters, ordered when the contract was executed, have now arrived,” Montagno said, “and we’re ready to move forward with replacing those meters that were identified for replacement.”

Meters installed in 2010 have reached the end of their operational life, meaning they are ready to be replaced by newer meters featuring upgraded technology.

Montagno told council that customers can expect Envocore workers to knock on doors before beginning any installation. Meter installation is expected to take no more than 20-30 minutes at each location.

Residents receiving the new water meters will experience a brief interruption of service while the work is being performed. Gas module recipients will not see any disruption of service.

Water meter changes could temporarily cause changes in water pressure, discoloration of water, small particles in the water, or air in lines, “similar to when you change your home house filter, you’ve got all that gunk that comes through it,” Montagno said. “But it goes away very quickly.”

To ensure safety and accountability, each Envocore employee will be wearing “high visibility Envocore attire,” he said, and will wear company badges when in the field. They will be driving vehicles bearing magnetic signage stating, “City of Boerne Official Contractor.”