An upgrade to the City of Newton’s water meters is bringing some additional money into the city. Newton’s Water Distribution Division is replacing outdated brass meters with modern, more efficient models that improve water measurement accuracy.

Newton Utilities Director Jody Rhone says about 7,300 meters are being replaced, and a majority of them are brass. His distribution crew can remove all the plastic and other components in minutes and the remaining brass is put into a cart. 

“When that cart or rack is full, we take that and sell it to a scrap metal dealer. I think one of the most recent sales was right around $5,000 in scrap metal.”

Rhone says they get up to $2.50 per pound for straight brass. But if the components are not removed from the water meters, the price drops to about $1.50 per pound. The money generated goes back into the Water Enterprise Fund to pay for all expenses related to the City of Newton’s Water Distribution system.