Milford held a ribbon cutting to celebrate the replacement of all 653 of its water meters Thursday, July 10. In the front row from left are Scott Wiley, Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce.; Zach Dripps, Commonwealth Engineers; Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall; Town Council President Doug Ruch; council member Jim Smiley; Kosciusko County Community Coordinator Amy Roe; Lindsey Hammond, Office of Community and Rural Affairs; and Nora Christiansen, Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce. In the back row are Utilities Superintendent Steven Marquart; County Commissioner Cary Groninger; Ryan Lareau, Commonwealth Engineers; and Donny Ritsema, Michiana Area Council of Governments.

Text and Photos
By Lilli Dwyer
InkFreeNews

MILFORD — After a seven-month replacement process, The Town of Milford and Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program Kosciusko held a ribbon cutting Thursday, July 10 to celebrate the community’s new water meter system.

Milford’s water utility is responsible for a total of 653 meters, for both residents and businesses. The last system, installed in 2013, was approaching the end of its life. As time went on, component failures and inaccurate readings were becoming a problem. The town was having to estimate readings in lieu of accurate data, Town Council President Doug Ruch said.

Once the need for new meters was identified, the town began the two-year process of working with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, which operates the H.E.L.P. program, to help fund the project. Replacement began in December 2024 and was finished in June.

“A huge benefit is the utility users did not have to fund these meters out of increased utility bills,” said Ruch. “As much of the benefit is going to be for the town utilities in that we can more accurately bill.”

The public was also invited to join the celebration, along with county government, chamber ambassadors, engineers and others who helped the project along.

Ruch thanked all these people, as well as Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall and Assistant Clerk-Treasurer Renda Loetz; Utilities Superintendent Steven Marquart and Milford’s town employees; and Neptune Equipment Company, who supplied and installed the meters.

County Commissioner Cary Groninger and OCRA Community Liaison Lindsey Hammond also addressed the crowd.

“It’s just really good to see our small communities continue to grow and prosper,” said Groninger. ” … Like (Ruch) said, water meters aren’t that sexy, but it’s one of those things … it is something that is important to the infrastructure of a community. When you don’t have good, clean drinking water all of a sudden you realize how important that is.”

Hammond described the purpose of H.E.L.P as “assist communities in building longterm capacity, developing attainable projects and leaving a legacy in the community. Kosciusko County joined the initiative in 2021 and is now celebrating the completion of a successful H.E.L.P. project, Hammond said.

“The project will enhance billing accuracy, optimize water loss audits and promptly address water system leaks,” she stated.

Indeed, longtime Milford resident Edward Hart, 71, expressed enthusiasm for the replacement meters. “The old ones, since I’ve lived here, they’ve had to be replaced at least twice. If it wasn’t a battery issue, it wouldn’t read right. With this, it shouldn’t be any problems,” he said.

A side-by-side comparison of an old water meter and new water meter.