If you've considered installing a water meter to help monitor your own water system for leaks and usage, Skagit County's PUD has a great deal for you. PUD is installing new radio-read meters to streamline their meter reading process.  Between now and June, as nearly 5000 used meters become available, you can buy one for $10 plus tax at the PUD Mt. Vernon office.

These used meters have an easy to read dial face that reads in cubic feet. Convert to gallons by dividing multiplying (thanks, Bob!) the number on the dial (cubic feet) by 7.48 (One cubic foot = 7.48 gallons).

According to Brad Spangler at PUD, "The used meters were all manufactured between 1993 and 2007.  We have bench tested a representative sample of them, which all demonstrated 98 percent or better accuracy. I have calculated that they are worth about $10 each, and are available for sale (where-is, as-is, no warranty expressed or implied) and pick-up at Skagit PUD's Mount Vernon office. They are boxed up (6 meters per box) and were capped upon removal from service earlier this year.?  The bore is 5/8 inch with 1 inch threads on each end."

Your friendly Guemes Island Waterworks Committee would love to facilitate your order.  Call Sally Stapp at 293-9474, Diane Murray at 588-8893 or Anne McCracken at 293-6626.  We will pick up and deliver meters as they become available. 

OR contact Scott Kilpatrick at:

Public Utility District No. 1 of Skagit County
1415 Freeway Drive (South of Lowes - west of I-5, near Blade Chevrolet)
Mount Vernon WA 98273-1436
Work  360-848-4441

[As of January 26, these meters were going fast, so call before you make the trip.]

A Testimonial To Meters

We LOVE our year old water meter.  My siblings, cousins and I are the 3rd and 4th generations to share our grandparents' cabin on Guemes Island.  In October, 2007 we installed a water meter and easy to use shut off valve to help deal with an old water system.  While we still need reminders to read the dial and record the data, we were rewarded for our efforts this past September.

My brother and his family enjoyed the cabin over Labor Day weekend. He recorded the meter reading as they left on Monday.  My husband & I visited the next Sunday.  I knew something was amiss as I happened by the pump house and heard the pump running.  The house had been vacant for a week. The small red triangle on the face of the water meter - called a drip detector - was spinning like mad.  When it's spinning, water is running. I immediately shut off the supply line. 

Later, I used my wrist watch and the meter to determine a 30 gallon per minute leak.  We called in the pros after our own digging failed to find the leak. We are now the happy owners of a new piping system that's easy to turn on & off and more importantly, helps preserve our precious Guemes water supply.  We can easily detect water leaks - even a small drip. Imagine if the leak had happened before our water meter installation.

Please see the above article about how you can get a used - but perfectly good - water meter from the PUD in Mt. Vernon for a mere $10.

Sally Stapp-Brigham