02-04-09 La Porte Area Water Authority

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5. WATER RATE STRUCTURES The cities of La Porte, Shoreacres and Morgan's Point Authority have adopted an Increasing Block Rate structure. Examples of the current water rate structures are attached in Appendix B and are made part of the Water Conservation Plan. 6. METER REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT The City of La Porte currently owns and operates equipment for small meter testing. The testing of large meters is conducted by contract forces. The current meter repair and testing program in place at the City of La Porte has been and will continue to be as follows: 1. Major Production meters - test once per year 2. Minor Production meters - test every 3 years 3. Meters larger than four inch - random testing every 3 years 4. Meters larger than one inch - random testing every 5 years 5. Meters smaller than one inch - random testing every 7 years In addition, the Authority, through its individual customers, will verify that each meter in the system is properly sized for the average volume of water being used in accordance with the manufacturers' specification for the meter. Based on testing and field evaluation, meters in all cities are repaired or replaced as needed. 7. LEAK DETECTION AND REPAIR The cities currently have individual leak detection programs which will be maintained. These programs include: a. Monthly water use accounting by the operations staff which identifies high water use after the service meters which may indicate leaks. b. Visual inspection by utility employees who keep a constant watch out for abnormal conditions indicating leaks or illegal connections. c. An adequate maintenance staff which is available to repair any leaks. d. An annual water accounting or audit is considered be part of the program. Sources of unaccounted for water, once located, are immediately corrected. Data from the audit is used to monitor and evaluate system conditions. 10