WBRZ - Baton Rouge

Officials say about 700 accounts, representing about 10 percent of all customers in Opelousas, have
not been paying for water use, costing the city up to $25,000 a month.

An electronic water metering system is finally up and running and the residents are now being required to pay their bills.

The city began installing the new electronic meters a few years ago as part of a $5 million upgrade of the city's aging water system, which engineers argued was costing the city almost $1 million a year in lost revenue.