That the Utility Authority:
A. Approve and authorize the Executive Director to issue a purchase order to Core & Main in an amount not to exceed $431,790.23 for the purchase of water meters and registers in various sizes for the Authority's annual Water Meter Replacement Program; and,

B.  Approve the appropriation of $431,790.23 from the Water Enterprise Fund Balance for the purchase of approximately 1,500 water meters and registers.

The La Habra Utility Authority (Authority) operates the City's water system.  A key component of the water system is the water meter, which measures the amount of water use for each customer for billing purposes.  Water meters in La Habra are read on a monthly basis, and the data collected is used to generate customer water bills.  Due to normal wear on internal parts, older water meters may become less accurate over time, and they may under-report actual water consumption.  Staff routinely replaces older water metes to ensure that bills properly reflect the amount of water used by customers.

The Authority maintains approximately 14,000 water meters in various sizes ranging from 5/8-inch to 8-inch.  The smaller water meters (5/8-inch, 3/4-inch, and 1-inch) are typically used for residential services; whereas, larger water meters (1 1/2-inch and larger) are typically used for commercial, irrigation, and or multi-family service connections.

The Water Meter Replacement Program is a program established to maintain accurate and reliable meters within the water distribution system.  In August 2021, the Authority purchased approximately 1,700 water meters and staff is currently working to deploy these meters with an estimated completion of June 2022.  Since the inception of the Program, staff has installed more than 11,000 automated waters that are read remotely utilizing an existing wireless, fixed-base network.  The Authority currently utilizes a multi-jet water meter, manufactured by Master Meter, in the City's water system, which is available from several local suppliers.

Staff solicited per-unit pricing from three firms that provide multi-jet meters, with the bid results shown below:

The lowest bidder is Core & Main.  Contingent upon City Council approval, staff will purchase a variety of water meters in different sizes in an amount not to exceed $431,790.23, which includes sales tax.  Core & Main has reliably supplied water meters to the Authority for several years.

The request to purchase additional meters outside the normal purchasing cycle is meant to preempt an expected ten percent price increase that will begin during the upcoming Fiscal Year 2022-2023.  Purchasing the meters now will save the Authority a significant amount, as well as ensure that the meters are delivered in a timely manner due to supply chain disruptions that are anticipated to impact the availability of this type of equipment over next six months.  Staff therefore recommends purchasing meters now in order to mitigate price increases, avoid procurement delays, and maintain the continuity of the Water Meter Replacement Program.

There is no impact to the General Fund to purchase water meters.  There is sufficient funding in the Water Enterprise Fund Balance to support the purchase of water meters.  This purchase was planned to be included in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 CIP budget, but is recommended to be accelerated to the current fiscal year, which will require a budget appropriation of $431,790.23 from the Water Enterprise fund balance.