Burnet to replace aging water, electrical infrastructure
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The city of Burnet will look to overhaul aging water and electrical infrastructure over the next several years after councilors approved $200,000 in funding for equipment replacements at a Tuesday, April 28, council meeting.
The projects, funded through the city’s dedicated electric and water/wastewater reserve accounts, will seek to address several failing water meters and high-risk electrical equipment throughout Burnet.
“We’re seeing a lot of meters, 30 to 50 a month, that are failing just because of the age,” City Manager David Vuaghn told council at the meeting.
Assistant Public Works Director Andrew Scott and Field Technician Jon Forsyth highlighted the deficiencies of the water meters and electrical equipment, which were deemed severe enough to call for full replacement.
“The purpose is to replace existing meters that cannot be read remotely, have failed, or are near the end of their service life,” Forsyth said at the meeting. “We currently have 386 new meters that have been placed into the ground… out of 500 that we initially ordered (in 2025), which means we’ll have a small stock for new developments as well.”
The city initially began efforts to replace meters in March 2025 by entering an agreement with Badger Meter, Inc., and subsequently purchasing $154,000 in meters, endpoints, and jumper harnesses that June.
Several pieces of electrical equipment were found to be in a similarly dilapidated condition after a recently-completed electric system visual inspection identified deficiencies. Staff reported that approximately 20-25 percent of the deficiencies discovered were critical, and would be addressed first.
“The total cost for everything with the less critical, you’re looking at about $900,000,” Scott said. “Right now, we’re asking for $100,000 to focus in on the critical deficiencies, and then we’ll try to put a plan together for the coming years to budget for the (less critical) deficiencies.”
Electrical poles were noted as the bulk of the equipment needing to be replaced, and would likely need to be addressed on a multiple-year schedule.
For a detailed breakdown of the water and electrical infrastructure replacements, view the City Council’s agenda from the April 28 meeting, beginning on page 240 and 248.