Is Set On Water Meters Voters in the City of Fresno will again consider the question of water meters when they cast primary ballots March 15, 2000. The Fresno City Council scheduled the ballot measure, which will have a much different look than a 1992 measure, sponsored by a taxpayers group, that resulted in a city charter ban on water meter use in the city. The new proposal would be a city charter amendment. It would provide property owners an option of having water meters installed and made operable, with water use fees calculated on actual use rather than a flat rate for unlimited service. Approximately 20,000 of the estimated 92,000 single-family residences in Fresno are equipped with water meters.
State law requires that meters be installed as a condition of development.
However, the 1992 charter measure bans their use in Fresno. However, the city's charter is at odds with a Central Valley Project Improvement Act requirement that contractors must install and operate metering devices. The city contracts for 60,000 acre-feet of CVP Class 1 water annually from the Friant Division. The city has agreed to renegotiate its contract, and meters are likely to be an issue.