Nearly Half Of Sacramento Homes Have No Water Meters
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Nearly half of Sacramento homes have no water meters, and the city is speeding up a plan to change that as the drought worsens.
The city plans to have water meters in all of the city's homes in the next five years.
Most people in Sacramento have never had to worry about how much water they are using, with two major rivers nearby.
Dan Sherry is a city engineer in charge of changing that. He says Sacramento has about 62,000 unmetered homes—about 45 percent—more than any city in the state, but not anymore.
Starting immediately, everyone in the capital city will have a water meter in their sidewalk or backyard.
The original plan called for the city to finish its plans in 2025, but it's sped up the process to help comply with Gov. Jerry Brown's order mandating people cut water use by 25 percent.
The meter will track how much customers are using and bill them based on usage, rather than a flat rate of $42 a home.
"You cannot get away with wasting water. it'll show up on your bill with how much water you're using," Sherry said.
The entire project will cost about $230 million and the city says it's still trying to come up with funding.