Bayfield public works officials are resuming plans to replace and relocate a number of water meters entering 2025.
The town is in its third year of a five-year plan, allocating a combined $100,000 in 2025 capital improvement project money to carry on with that process.
Town Manager Katie Sickles said in an email to The Durango Herald that some of the meters are aging and it is time to replace them.
“Water meters fail like any mechanical device,” she said. “As meters age they record less water or just stop recording all together. The goal several years ago was to replace a fraction of all water meters annually.”
As for the water meters that will be relocated, public works Director Jeremy Schulz said in an email to the Herald that the project was specifically designed to move water meters out from under houses into the town’s right of way. He said about 35 meters are located under houses in Bayfield, and two relocations are scheduled for 2025.
He said most of the meters that need to be relocated were in the Yucca Estates subdivision near the northeast side of town, adding that the changes will improve maintenance access and customer service.
Schulz said older meters that need to be updated are mostly located south of U.S. Highway 160.
“The north side of Bayfield has been completed, with the exception of a couple of commercial properties,” he said.
He said the town has been replacing about 250 water meters per year under its five-year plan, adding that doing so will provide more accuracy in billing and assist in “water loss accounting improving system operation efficiency.”
mhollinshead@durangoherald.com
