Federal, local officials break ground on water meter replacement project in Donaldsonville

Officials held a ceremony April 29 to mark the beginning of the Ascension Parish Water Meter Replacement Project, which will replace more than 2,000 water meters across Donaldsonville.

According to a parish government news release, the $4.5 million construction contract will remove and replace manually read water meters with remotely read meters.

Ascension Parish government research found that the older meters were underreporting water usage by nearly 30 percent.

Officials expect the new meters to increase revenue by nearly $300,000, per the release.

The project is expected to be complete in spring 2025.

Speakers for the event at the Donaldsonville Fire Station included Col. Cullen Jones of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' New Orleans District, Parish President Clint Cointment, Parish Councilman for District 1 Oliver Joseph and Donaldsonville Mayor Leroy Sullivan.