Tulsa Replaced Defective Water Meters
The city has begun swapping out hundreds of faulty residential and commercial water meters at no cost to customers.
Updated on Sept. 28, 2026 in Utilities
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The City of Tulsa has launched an effort to replace 609 defective water meters. This work is part of a larger project to modernize infrastructure and identify lead service lines.
Why it matters
Replacing these faulty units ensures accurate billing for residents and helps the city meet federal water safety standards. The manufacturer is covering all costs associated with the replacements and labor.
The initial phase targets 609 meters, with an additional 9,200 defective Neptune ultrasonic units scheduled for replacement later this year. Service is typically interrupted for 15 minutes or less during the process.
The players
City of Tulsa
The local municipal government is responsible for managing public utilities and infrastructure maintenance.
Meter Works
This private contractor is conducting the field operations for the city's water meter replacement project.
The details
Crews from Meter Works are handling the installation in existing meter boxes, requiring no digging in yards. Affected customers currently receiving estimated bills based on historical usage will see more accurate readings once their units are updated.
Timeline
The True Reads program originally launched in 2024.
The city began replacing defective meters on September 28, 2026.
The first round of replacements is expected to be finished by early October 2026.
The city plans to replace 9,200 additional defective meters later in 2026.
Market Landscape
This replacement effort is part of a broader push to modernize municipal infrastructure to comply with the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions. By identifying legacy service lines during these repairs, the city follows a national trend toward updating aging utility assets.
Residents do not need to schedule appointments, and the work comes at no cost to the customer. Water service will experience a brief interruption of 15 minutes or less while crews complete the installation.
The takeaway
Customers should look for door hangers left by crews as a notification that work is taking place on their property. Once the new meters are installed, billing will shift from estimates based on past usage to actual real-time consumption data.
Further reading
For more information on local infrastructure projects, visit the Utilities section.
More information
To inquire about your specific meter or report a concern, visit the Tulsa 311 customer service portal.
Source note: This article includes information reported by News On 6.
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