Nearly a decade ago, Ascension Parish government bought the troubled Peoples Water Service Co. operation, which had provided drinking water to the city of Donaldsonville since 1941.
Amid criticism and some buyer's remorse, parish officials in the late 2010s found the underfunded operation had leaks, old meters and a mysterious shortfall between the amount of water the system's plant produced from Bayou Lafourche and the amount of water actually billed.
Though officials have since taken steps to narrow the mystery gap, fix leaks and improve the water plant operations, Ascension and city officials hope a new $4.5 million grant through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can continue to improve the efficiency and financial footing of the west bank water system.
The grant will pay for the replacement of 2,030 old meters with new electronic ones that will be able upload their data remotely to the parish-run water district that serves Donaldsonville — Parish Utilities of Ascension — and allow some drive-by data collection where needed, officials said this week.
Hailed as a step bringing the historic Mississippi River city into the current century, the new meters will prevent workers from having to be sent into the field to collect readings, greatly improve the accuracy of water billing and more quickly identify leaks, officials said. The meters are expected to be in place by spring 2025.
"This project is an investment in the future of Donaldsonville and underscores our commitment to modernizing infrastructure and ensuring reliable services to our residents," Parish President Clint Cointment said in a statement.
Ascension Parish Councilman Oliver Joseph, in red, background, speaks Monday, April 29, 2024, to a news conference and gathered officials marking a new U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to replace water meters in the city of Donaldsonville. The $4.5 million job will replace 2,030 meters in most of the city with new, more accurate meters.
During a news conference at the Donaldsonville fire station this week, officials had samples of the new meters and the small, dish-like antenna that will go on each customer's home or business. The antenna is about the size of a small salad plate.
Parish officials also warned water bills likely could go up for some users — though rates won't change — because of the meters' improved accuracy.
Bill Dawson, parish utilities director, explained that the existing meters, which are decades old, have a rotating device inside the pipe that measures water flow through the number of times it spins as water passes by.
As the meter ages, the bearings in that device wear out, Dawson said, and the spinning slows, undermeasuring the amount of water used. The new Neptune meters are ultrasonic and don't have moving parts, according to the manufacturer.
Corps of Engineers officials said past parish tests found the old meters were underbilling by as much as 30%, and project the new meters could generate $300,000 annually in new revenue.
New, ultrasonic Neptune water meters are show, at left, in comparison with preexisting water meters used in the city of Donaldsonville during a news conference Monday, April 29, 2024, at the city fire station. A $4.5 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project will replace 2,030 meters in most of the city.
Dawson said he expects the meters to generate savings in manpower now spent on reading meters that can be redirected to leak repair, but suggested that the bill increases over time may not be as much as predicted.
Several years ago, the parish tried a test run of the new meters in the St. Jude neighborhood outside the city limits, and officials found residents gradually adjusted their usage downward with the increased accuracy.
The replacement project also won't cover the entire city limits. Mayor Leroy Sullivan, whose home won't be included, quipped before an audience at the news conference on Monday that continuing to have an old meter is just fine by him.
"I don't mind mine being not accurate, because normally when meters … when they get old, they start reading on the low side, right," he said to some laughs. "So, I'm excited. Y'all don't have to rush to replace my meters."
The federal grant, which will require a 25% match from the parish, is the latest tack that Ascension government has tried to upgrade the old Peoples Water system since the purchase in the fall of 2016 for just under $6 million.
Several years ago, the parish, under then President Kenny Matassa, had contemplated a $17.5 million U.S. Department of Agriculture loan and grant for new meters, new water lines, plant and water tank upgrades, and other improvements.
In advance of the 40-year loan, Matassa's administration adopted a phased, 39% rate increase on residents each month and more on businesses in mid-2019.
Under Cointment, the loan was put on hold over financial concerns as administration officials argued the private system was well overdue for a rate increase anyway without the loan and needed more money to afford the proposed debt. Officials cited Peoples Water correspondence to the parish in 2016 saying it was due a 63% increase.
Officials had mulled selling the water system while also deciding to test the revenue impact of a sample of new meters. The Parish Council adjusted commercial rates in May 2022, but the residential hike has remained in place.
Parish officials said the Corps grant won't require rate increases or any new parish debt.
Corps officials said the expenditure, which had already been authorized to improve other aspects of the PUA system, was repurposed for the meters.