No more flat fee: Ogdensburg households getting water meters

OGDENSBURG, New York (WWNY) — The way Ogdensburg homeowners are billed for water is going to change. Instead of everyone paying the same fee, it will depend on how much water is used.

Homeowners in Ogdensburg currently pay one flat rate for their water. That will change when water meters come online. The city council has decided to go ahead with water meters.

“In theory, people will be more conscious about the amount of water they are using, and therefore it is likely that there’ll be less water used in the city, therefore less strain on our facilities for water distribution,” said Mike Tooley, mayor.

Grant funding factor

The deputy mayor says there’s another reason, too.

“It has in the past been a negative impact for us when we were applying for grant funds to offset costs to our citizens because we don’t have the meters so it makes us ineligible or gives us a lower scoring on some of the grant applications we have,” said Jennifer Stevenson, deputy mayor.

Businesses in the city are already on water meters. The cost for thousands of new meters across the city is estimated at $6 million. The city has won a state grant for half the cost.

Residents react

One city resident says he likes the idea of water meters because currently he and his wife pay the same flat fee that a large family does. Officials say there will be winners and losers.

“While there will still be a minimum fee and there’s always those who use more and use less, but those who use an extraordinary amount will have to pay that higher fee,” Stevenson said.

Next steps

One next step is deciding whether to roll the water meter cost into a planned upgrade of the city’s water treatment plant or do it separately. Either way, it will likely be at least a couple of years before residential water meters are in place.