Residents of Rutledge may soon have new automatic water meters. The town council agreed to apply for a $250,000 loan to fund the project. The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund will cover the costs of the project as a loan to the town.

“It is a state revolving low-interest loan program,” said Rutledge consultant Troy Hudson of Hudson Engineering during a recent council meeting. “You can apply for this all year long. But the sooner you get it in, the better your chances.”

The DWSRF program was established under the Safe Drinking Water Act amendments of 1996 and most of the funds were given to states that provided a 20 percent match. The states then loaned the money to public water systems.

Townships can apply for the loan and, in some cases, are forgiven the debt. The program focuses on helping small and disadvantaged communities provide safe, affordable drinking water.

Mayor Beth Rodgers said she was in full support of the project.

The “smart meters” will eliminate the need to go out and read individual meters and have leak alerts that notify consumers when water consumption has a drastic change.