According to a new report from the City of Punta Gorda, 9,063 of the 14,171 water meters installed by the city between 2017 and 2019 have now failed.
City of Punta Gorda.The water meters, made by Zenner USA, were installed in an effort to modernize the city’s billing system by automatically sending a customer’s water usage to the billing department without the need for an in person meter reader. But, components in the new meters have failed, leading to some customers getting estimated bills.
Watch FOX 4’s Alex Orenczuk report on the latest report regarding the failing water meters in Punta Gorda:
Punta Gorda considers new strategy after more than 9000 water meters fail
According to the report, the meter failures outpaced the city’s ability to repair them.
In March 2024, after more than 6000 meters had failed , the city approved a contract with Wisconsin based meter reading company, Olameter, to bring in manual readers. The contract has an estimated maximum cost of $319,800. However, the report states that Olameter has not been able to staff its crews properly, having five employees either quit or be terminated since the contract began.