CENTER — A letter was received July 15 from the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority (CWRPDA) confirming a $1.4 million loan to the town to install a new water metering system.

According to Dave Mehaffie, Center building inspector/code enforcement officer, the loan is in addition to the $1 million grant from the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) to make the whole $2.4 million project possible.

The project to install a residential water metering system has been in the works for over a year, Mehaffie said. It will “includes meter pits, meters 

and the automated metering interface integrating the water metering consumption date with the existing billing system,” according to the letter.

“We are doing our part to conserve Colorado resources,” Mehaffie commented.

Of course, the DOLA grant that was received this spring does not need to be repaid; however, the CWRPDA does. The 20-year loan has an interest rate of 0.5 percent.

The town has already executed the documents to receive the loan and Mehaffie said the work should begin in the next couple weeks.

In the summer, Center residents use approximately 1.5 million gallons of water per day compared to winter when it is 400,000 to 500,000 gallons daily.

Even though the town has ordinances limiting water hours and running open hoses, he still finds the violations of the ordinances. The current plan, according to Mehaffie, is to change from a flat rate usage system to a system where customers will be charged for the water that is used.