By Bryce Abshier – Contact Bryce@VoiceofSouthMarion.com
At a recent Belleview City Commission meeting, Commissioner Bo Smith voiced concerns about a significant water usage spike at a local business in Belleview. According to Smith, the facility’s water usage, typically around 18,000 gallons per month, soared to over 100,000 gallons in July. “It quadrupled before we notified anybody,” Smith stated. Despite this drastic increase, no alert was raised until a bill reflecting the higher usage was received, indicating a possible leak or malfunction.
Belleview’s Public Works Director, Bob Titterington, explained the limitation, stating, “We only read the meters once a month, so we won’t know until we read the meter.” However, Commissioner Mike Goldman recalled a different scenario, referencing a past meter replacement project, prior to Titterington’s employment with Belleview. “When we did the meter replacement, a number of years ago, the commission was told if a (water) meter was running for 24 hours, it was going to flag somewhere inside City Hall so that we could go tell people,” Goldman said, emphasizing that the new digital meters were expected to alert staff of any unusual activity automatically.
This revelation sparked concern among the commissioners, as it became clear that the expected functionality was not being implemented. Titterington mentioned stories he had heard of an antenna on the water tower that once provided continuous readings, but without it, the system’s promised features failed to work. Other long-serving staff members confirmed that the antenna system had been unreliable and ultimately removed. The lack of a solution for the “dead zones” in Belleview, where the digital meters couldn’t function properly, was what ultimately led to their removal. “They didn’t offer us a solution for the dead zones?” Goldman asked, reflecting the commission’s frustration with the company that sold the city the digital meter system.
Commissioner Smith expressed his disappointment, saying, “I was led to believe, and still believed the other day when I went to talk to these people… we’re supposed to let you know when you’re losing a bunch of water.”
For the local business, the water bill, which typically averaged $150 per month, had jumped to over $1,000.00. The bill was later adjusted to reflect their usual usage, but the incident raised broader concerns about water conservation and meter accuracy in Belleview.
“This doesn’t look like being good stewards of the public’s water if we are allowing 85,000 gallons of water to run through somebody’s meter,” Goldman remarked, suggesting the need to revisit the digital meter system.
With Belleview’s population growing, some on the commission stressed the importance of reliable water monitoring systems. “Water is such a precious resource, and we have so many people moving into the area,” Goldman concluded, showing the need for an efficient water management solution as the city continues to expand.
