MVWD Board Discusses Problem Of “Banked” Meters

By VERNON ROBISON

Moapa Valley Progress

The Moapa Valley Water District (MVWD) Board of Directors, at a meeting held Thursday, January 10, discussed possible resolutions to a problem that has been carried on the books of the district for more than a decade. The topic of discussion was the ownership of “banked” meters.

MVWD General Manager Joe Davis explained that it was not until 2005 that a policy was passed by the board requiring the immediate installation of all water meters purchased by a customer. Before that time, though, customers could pay the district the cost of a meter and then “bank” the meter to be used at an undetermined date in the future.

Davis explained that there are still 35 of these “banked” meters that currently remain on the MVWD books.
“While that doesn’t sound like a large number, it could add up to 50-60 acre feet per year of water,” Davis said. “So it is a good chunk of water.”

An acre foot of water is approximately enough to supply one average Moapa Valley household for an entire year.

Davis explained that the problem with this arrangement is that the district is legally bound to service these “banked” meters on demand. Thus, water resources and system capacity must be held in reserve for those meters for as long as it takes to bring them into service. And, as none of them are actually connected to a property, no revenue is generated from them, Davis said.
“That has been okay, and it has flown under the radar, for the past several years because there hasn’t been any crunch on water supply,” Davis said.

But all that may change soon. A draft order, released by the Nevada State Engineer’s office in December, declared six large hydrographic basins in the region as interconnected. Thus it proposes that they all must be managed as one superbasin. Included in that superbasin is the Warm Springs headwaters of the Muddy River where MVWD gets it water resources to service the community.

The draft order states that priority of water use will be given based on the seniority of the rights ownership, above that of beneficial use. This, taken to its furthest conclusion, could leave entities like MVWD short on water resources.

“As we move through that process with the possibility of litigation that might be pending with the state engineer’s draft order, those (banked meters) could actually be pretty large on the liability that the district has,” Davis said. “So we wanted to start a discussion with the board early on so that the community could become aware of it.”

Davis said that many of the owners of the “banked” meters may not even remember that they still own them. So just making those people aware of this asset would be a first step. Many may be willing to sell their meters at a profit if they had the chance, Davis said.

Bought at more than a decade ago, purchase prices on the “banked” meters ranged from $750 to $2,500. The current price of a new meter is $3,480. So there would be an opportunity for the owners of a “banked” meter to make a profit, the buyer could get a meter at a discount, and the district could write the liability off its books.
“Everybody is happy!” Davis said.

Situations like that present themselves from time to time, Davis said. And if those who hold the “banked” meters knew this, many of them might be able to be cleared off the books, Davis said.
“Right now, for example, I have an individual who wants a meter; and I also know a person who has a banked meter that wants to sell it” Davis said. “So rather than just sell them the meter, I am trying to facilitate the purchase of that existing meter. They can buy it from the private party, we can install it, and it takes the liablity off of our books.”

MVWD Board member Ryan Wheeler suggested that the board consider putting a seven year sunset on the “banked” meters. This would require meter owners to either put the meters in use within that time or be required to pay resource fees on the meter to keep the district whole.
“There may come a time when we get pushed into a corner and have to implement a fee on these,” Davis said. “My personal standpoint is that there should be a fee on it becuase they are tying up resources and we can’t do anything with them. But I don’t think that we are at that point yet.”

Davis said that the district is sending notices to all owners of “banked” meters requesting them to come in and update their information with the district.
“That will put people on notice that, ‘Oh yeah, I own something here!’” Davis said. “Then they might start seeing something of the conversation about this in the newspaper and in the community and realize that some changes are coming on it. It might make them more proactive on trying and doing something with that asset.”

MVWD Board member Lindsey Dalley said that from a community standpoint, this was a good direction for the district to take in the matter.
“It is always tough for us to look good when we start requiring new fees on something,” Dalley said. “But if we start early and proactively go out there and help those people deal with it so that it can come out in their favor; it looks good.”