Ammon making progress on installing water meters

The city of Ammon is almost four months into its switch to water meter rates. The city recently made the switch from a flat rate system to the metered system. The flat water rate for small lots was $50 and the rate for big lots was $70. It is now a $30 base rate and then $1 for every 1,000 gallons used.

“In a flat rate system, what we found is that some customers that would use, say, 2,000 gallons a month and pay the exact same rate for water as a customer right next door using 20,000 or even 200,000 gallons a month,” said Micah Austin, Ammon city administrator. “And so the metered water rate system establishes an equitable rate system where the users pay for what they consume.”

The city’s goal is to get every residential customer on the metered system. Out of the 4,316 customers on the water system, only 1,259 are still on the flat rate system.

“This year, the goal was to install 458 meters by the end of this year,” Austin said. “And right now, we’re on track to meet that goal and exceed it. We’ve installed 360 meters as of today. And so, we’re trying to far exceed that goal by the end of this year, but right now, we’re doing very well.”

The city says the meters are giving customers a chance to really look at and monitor their water usage and focus on conservation.

“For the most part, most people want their meter installed,” Austin said. “Many of our customers would just like to have a meter to take control of their own water consumption and see where they end up.”

If you live in Ammon and want to know how much water you are using and how much it is costing you, you can call the city to find out. Their water meter system constantly tracks water usage, so you can even see it down to the hour.