Bovina, Texas: Bulls, Droughts & Smart Metering

The City of Bovina, Texas, was incorporated in 1956, but its history goes back much further. Now home to approximately 1,900 residents, the city gets its name from its former status as ?Bull Town,? the world?s largest cattle shipping site in the early 1890s during the reign of the XIT Ranch in the Texas Panhandle. Not far from the New Mexico border, Bovina has been faced with two major challenges in recent years ? a poverty rate of 21 percent and the area?s worst drought on record.

When a year goes by without measurable precipitation, water becomes an even more precious commodity. But with aging distribution lines and a water meter population dating to the 1950s and 1960s, the city had a tough time keeping track of the water and billing for it. According to City Manager Jana Pitcock, like many small cities, Bovina had been replacing infrastructure a little bit at a time as limited funds became available. This led to a mish-mash of meters from different manufacturers and different decades measuring flow for the city?s 600 residential and 50 commercial accounts.