Port LaBelle Water Meters Go Hi-Tech

LABELLE, FLORIDA -- Port LaBelle residents will be seeing technicians replacing water meters over the coming months for thousands of existing meters. New electronic meters are being installed to replace the twenty-year old models now recording water useage.

The new meters will send electronic digital radio signals to a meter reader's receiving device to automatically record the water useage. Installed with lithuim batteries that supposedly will last for a decade or more, the new meters allow a Port LaBelle Utility System employee to merely drive by each home to automatically record the water use each month.

There's no offical word whether Port LaBelle customers will end up paying more for their water because of the added cost of the new meters, but residents have for years complained about their historically high water and sewer rates in Port LaBelle. Years ago, the county purchased the water company from the original Port LaBelle developer with promises of lower rates. However, customer costs have only gone up over the years.