Minneapolis Proposes A Change In Water Meter Ownership

A meter for water that travels from Minneapolis to recently was replaced. But staff members in both cities expect it won't stay accurate for long.

"That meter has had problems forever," said Tom Burt, Golden Valley city manager and Joint Water Commission chair.

The Joint Water Commission includes the cities of Crystal, Golden Valley and New Hope. The JWC buys treated water from the city of Minneapolis. That water comes into Golden Valley through a 40-inch pipe and into the city's distribution system, according to Burt.

The problem is the water comes into the Golden Valley pipe at such a high velocity that the ground around it literally shakes, Burt said. Over time, the shaking throws the meter off.

The JWC owns the meter and pays to have it tested. 

In a July 6 letter, Steve Kotke, city of Minneapolis director of Public Works, proposed a new idea.

It is "common in the industry for the supplying entity to own its own meters and do its own periodic inspection and testing," Kotke wrote. "The benefit to the JWC in this arrangement would be that you would no longer be responsible for the cost of testing or the replacement of the meter.

The JWC discussed Kotke's letter at its July 13 meeting.

Burt said he will send a response to Kotke and they will continue to discuss the idea and work out the details.