NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Nashville woman says a water meter in her yard has been leaking for two weeks. Metro Water Services has now responded, saying a repair crew has been assigned to fix it.
Stephanie Pollard said the leak started Aug. 24 and she called Metro Water Services right away.
"Yeah, August 24th, and that was when I called immediately to Metro," Pollard said.
She said Metro Water Services responded quickly to her initial call but was unable to make the repair at that time.
"The meter is like 40 inches down that the gentleman that came said he couldn't fix it, so he had to call in, I think he called it a deep well service or something like that," Pollard said.
Pollard said she has been removing water from the meter well by hand, but it refills each time. The situation has her thinking about aging water infrastructure across Nashville, not just in her neighborhood.
She estimated the leak could be significant.
"But that's just rising up here, so we don't know about all this that's leaking out through here. So I imagine it's probably well over 10 gallons a minute," Pollard said.
Metro Water Services said in a statement that it responds to service requests as quickly as possible, but repairs are sometimes postponed due to higher-priority needs, such as meter issues affecting water service to a customer or water main breaks.
The agency said the meter was leaking at the union, which is the connection point on the street side, and that the repair was scheduled. A superintendent confirmed the job was the second one assigned to a crew on Thursday.
Metro Water Services said most residential meters have a service life rating of 15 years and that the agency strives to conduct meter exchange projects to keep meters from exceeding that span. The agency noted that some meters tested from the field that were beyond their typical service life were still reading accurately.
Customers who believe their meter is reading inaccurately can review their online account for abnormal changes in consumption or check the bar graph on their paper statement. Those needing additional assistance can contact Customer Care at 615-862-4600.
Metro Water Services said it typically identifies meter issues through meter readings that indicate changes in consumption or through a lack of an electronic read from the meter, which triggers a field visit. Customers reporting concerns, such as water coming from a meter box, also prompt responses.
The agency said it is currently converting all residential meters to AMI, or Advanced Metering Infrastructure, with a goal of replacing 24,000 meters a year. Replacements are being done in batches based on meter reading routes, with priority given to areas with the oldest meters or the highest number of work orders due to metering equipment failure.
Pollard said she hopes the leak is fixed soon.
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