ST. MARIES - St. Maries voters on Tuesday turned down a $2.1 million, 30-year bond to expedite installing water meters and develop a second water source on the St. Joe River.

The votes were 204 against the proposal and 140 for it. A simple majority (50 percent plus one) was needed for the measure to pass.

"I'm very disappointed that it didn't pass," Mayor Tami Holdahl said. "We've lost a lot of water rights on the St. Joe that we'll never get back. I don't think the people realize what they've lost."

The total bond amount, with an estimated interest rate of 3.25 percent, would have been about $2.49 million.

Holdahl said she knows what the majority of the people were thinking when they declined the proposal, but she wouldn't say the reason.

"I know what happened, but I can't say," she said. "Small town. I believe if people could've found the facts first and not listened to the rumors (the result may have been different)."

Holdahl said she believes developing a second water source on the Joe was more crucial than expediting the water meter process.

"The water right was priceless," she said. "The meters are coming to St. Maries. We'll just have to find a different way to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible."

The City Council will meet on Monday to discuss how to proceed with the meter program and when the first meters will be installed.

"The council could decide to raise rates through the ordinances," she said, adding that the board may or may not decide to propose an increase.

St. Maries is one of the few cities in the state that doesn't have water meters.

City officials say water conservation and creating fairness to customers with water cost were among the reasons behind the bond and the need for meters.

All residents, no matter how much water is being consumed, are currently charged a flat monthly rate of $36.

The city in 2008 decided to install water meters and raised rates by $10 per month, with $6 going toward water meters. About $175,000 has been generated for water meters and the plan was to install the devices over seven to 10 years.

With the bond, the city had a chance at a USDA rural development loan that would have allowed the meters to be installed in 2011 and create a second water source on the Joe.

The city's primary water source is Rochat Creek, a tributary to the Joe 8 miles upstream from St. Maries. Its secondary source is Riverdale well water, but many residents dislike the taste of the water and its high levels of iron and manganese that discolor clothes and fixtures.

If St. Maries had a catastrophic fire, it could lose its Rochat Creek source, leaving Riverdale the only water option.

Another water source on the Joe would have also allowed the city to utilize its water treatment plant if Rochat becomes unusable.

A $700,000 USDA grant would have allowed the second source to be developed, but would have only kicked in if the city has water meters.