Berea To Install High-Tech Digital Water Meters

BEREA, OH — The city of Berea will be replacing more than 4,000 residents' water meters from May to December.

Since obtaining a $1.7 million loan from the Ohio Water Development Authority, the city has announced a partnership with Burgess & Niple Inc. to install more than 4,000 new digital water meters by the end of the year, according to the city's monthly newsletter.

The new water meters would allow the city to more accurately bill residents for the amount of water used and to detect issues such as water leaks as they happen. Right now, city officials have to manually check water meter readings every three months, according to the newsletter.

Berea Mayor Cyril Kleem stated that the new meters could help avoid overcharging, such as when one resident was charged $6,000 after a leak went undetected.

The new water meters will cost residents an extra $2 a month, which will go into a special fund for future upgrades to water meters, but city officials say the new meters will end up saving citizens money due to the increased accuracy in calculating water bills.

"We are dealing with 50-year-old meters in a lot of older properties,” Mayor Kleem said in the newsletter. “They need to be replaced. There is a cost savings if we do it all at once.”