Update on water meter replacement project
The City of Kingsport has replaced more than 16,000 water meters this year as part of a $3 million replacement project. The project was initiated in the spring of 2021 to address failing batteries in some of the city’s older water meters.
Kingsport installed new water meters in 2009 that allowed a vehicle to drive by and get a reading on each meter, rather than sending an employee out to manually read the meter. This was a more efficient and safer way to read water meters.
Unfortunately, the batteries in some of these water meters started to fail in December 2020, which resulted in the city’s water services department not being able to electronically detect an accurate reading of water usage.
Due to staffing and equipment issues, the city initially estimated water usage for some customers. Estimating kept water bills at a consistent amount and it got the bills out in a timely manner at first.
Then, to help speed up the billing process, the city charged some customers the minimum amount one month and then physically read the water meter the next month. This was why some water bills were higher one month and lower the next.
The city wants to emphasize – the amount of water billed over a two-month period is correct.
Today, all meters are being read by an employee every month, though the city is still more than a month behind on billing.
To resolve this issue, the city plans to do two billing cycles to cover 45 days each and then begin monthly billing in August. This will cause your current bill to be higher than normal. For example, if you’re expecting to pay $50 per month for 3 bills ($150), you may end up paying $75 per bill for 2 bills ($150).
The City of Kingsport anticipates all billing issues to be resolved by your August bill.
Please note – Your water meter is registering the correct water usage and you’re not being overbilled for your water. If you have any further questions about your water bill, please call 423-343-9860.