Youngstown meter replacement will eliminate meter readers

YOUNGSTOWN

The board of control authorized a $6.69 million contract to purchase about 52,000 water meters.

The meter replacement project at all city water customers will start later this year and is expected to finish in 2020, said Water Commissioner Harry L. Johnson III.

The last meter-replacement project was in 1988, and the meters are supposed to last about 15 years, Johnson said.

The city’s water customers are in Youngstown, Boardman, Liberty and Canfield.

About 3,000 customers will get new water meters this year with plans to increase that number – about 9,000 to 10,000 annually – in future years.

When the project is done, the city will no longer need water-meter readers who travel to the meters, as that work will be done at the water department, Johnson said.

Read more about the plan in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.