Irrigation Meters
Irrigation Meter Option -
Irrigation Meters provide a separate meter for outdoor water use that may provide savings on utility bills.
The City charges two types of fees for water and sewer utilities; a base fee and variable usage charges. Residents will always be charged for all water used with each 1,000 gallons of water charged at the applicable tier rate. Sewer utility variable usage is based on the water usage, unless a separate meter is installed to measure water used outside for irrigation or maintenance purposes. The first 10,000 gallons of water used is covered by the base sewer charge and then each additional 1,000 gallons above 10,000 is charged $7.60 per 1,000 (2023).
If a resident is putting in new sod, regularly waters the lawn (irrigation activities), or has a pool or hot tub, variable sewer usage charges can add up. Residents have the option to purchase an irrigation meter from the City to monitor how much water is being used for outside purposes for that usage to be excluded from variable sewer charges since outside water does not go into a sewer drain. Mound requires new construction to have both a main meter and an irrigation meter.
Property Owners: Should I add an irrigation meter?
Because outside usage is limited to the warm weather months in Minnesota, the payback for adding an irrigation meter after the fact can take many years. Although not required by the City, hiring a plumber to install the irrigation meter is strongly recommended.
Over 60% of households use between 6 – 20K gallons of water on average over the course of the year.
Assuming an average of 15K gallons per month are used outside from May – October, the variable sewer usage charge would be 9 X $7.60 = $68.40 based on 2023 rates. The cost to install a standard irrigation meter after the fact is estimated to be $415 for the meter and $300 for the installation (if a plumber is used). Assuming 2023 variable sewer rates, it would take 9 years for this customer to recoup their investment assuming the 15K per month for 6 months.
Call (952)472-0600 if you are interested in an irrigation meter.