St. Joseph City Commissioners will soon consider a $9.5 million project to replace about 10,000 water meters throughout the service area of the municipal water plant. City Communications Director Kayla Griffith tells us the Water Services Joint Operating Board, which consists of the city, St. Joseph Township, Lincoln Township, and Royalton Township, made the recommendation to switch all customers over to smart meters that can monitor the water system in real-time. “With these meters, they’re almost like smart meters, where they’re constantly talking to a tower, so we don’t have to send someone around to drive past and get the radio signals.” Because the city owns the water plant and related infrastructure, it will borrow the $9.5 million for the project. Griffith says with the accuracy of the new meters, the city is expecting the project to eventually pay for itself.