WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — If your Wausau water bill has been abnormally low, the city will come and look at your meter.
Mayor Doug Diny says they’re in the middle of a large-scale effort to replace broken or faulty meters to help close a 17% gap between the amount of water distributed by the drinking water treatment plant and the amount that’s actually billed.
Diny says it’s just like any other business, if you see a significant loss somewhere, you try to stop it. “Anytime we get a billing that shows no usage we are going after those to find out [why.] Maybe it’s an abandoned building, but we want to find out why there was no usage. If you’re using water you should be paying for it.”
He says a 100% payment rate for water distribution isn’t possible. Leaks and evaporation will happen even in the newest pipes. Maintenance also cuts into those numbers. But he says a number that high is a sign of bigger problems. So instead of cutting the payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, between the utility and the city’s general fund, they’ve invested that money in meter replacement. “If we can get that 17% to say 7%, well ten percent of a $12 million budget is $1.2 million. That’s the PILOT right there.
“Our priority right now is to stop the losses,” added Diny. “We could have a leak out there, but we’re pretty sure that’s not the case. We’re pretty sure [this comes from] underbilling.”
Diny notes that the payback could be a year or two away. If they can get the leakage rate under control, they could be well-positioned to pursue another rate case study with the Public Utilities Commission. Which could mean lower rates once the utility has beefed up its reserve funds.
“We are under reserves and [the PSC] wants us to build that up. The thought now is let’s put that money into meters to try to recover that shortfall,” said Diny. “We’ll replace all of those so we can get some return on that- which could give us a little more wiggle room.”
Other topics Mayor Diny discussed with WSAU’s Mike Leischner include:
Start of video- election recap
3:20- Budget update and water meters
8:45- New soccer club in Central Wisconsin
11:10- Army vs Navy predictions
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