New and improved water meters will soon be making their way into some Handy Township communities.

265 homes at Red Cedar and another 46 at Silver Springs will be affected. Handy Township Supervisor Ed Alverson said the time is right to update the system. He said the current meters are aged and tired, and that if the system is not updated, there may come a point where they can no longer read them. He said they can still read the current meters by remote, but they are not as effective as they should be.
A motion was passed at the meeting to loan the water fund the $90,000 from the general fund to cover the investment. Alverson said this shouldn’t affect the township’s cash flow over the next year, and he expects the water fund to begin paying back the general fund in installments next summer.

Township Clerk Laura Eisele will oversee the project that she says will probably be done in phases. Alverson said the pros far outweigh the cons with the new meters. On the negative side is the cost and needing to go to each person’s home to replace the meters. The biggest positive is that residents with new meters will be able to go online at any time and monitor their water usage. (MK)