Water District's $3 Million Upgrade to Water Meter System

“This project is not replacing water meters,” says Vicki Goldman, Customer Services Supervisor, “It is replacing the radio transmitters that were installed on our meters six to ten years ago. We’re doing this so we can collect water use data more efficiently as our customer base grows. Instead of driving by 20,000 meters to collect data for billing, our field staff will focus more time on water system maintenance and investigating and resolving problems.”

Benefits of the New System

The District selected the Sensus Flex-Net AMI system because it:

·         Enables real-time leak detection and reporting;

·         Is compatible with the District’s current meters and billing system;

·         Stores almost a full year of data online;

·         Enables staff to identify trends in water use;

·         Provides consumption data on-demand for resource management and billing;

·         Will enable the District to increase its customer base without increasing staff and supporting assets (vehicles, computers, antennas);

·         Is a “greener” system, reducing gas use in District vehicles;

·         Requires only three base antennas, located on District properties, to cover the District’s entire service area, which means less equipment for the District to purchase, deploy, operate, and maintain; and,

·         In addition to the Flex-Net system’s multiple layers of built-in security, data is carried on a licensed radio spectrum protected by federal law.

Brief History of Meter Reading at the District

Prior to 2008, staff had to physically visit every meter and collect data by touching a transmitter in the meter box lid or by lifting the lid and visually reading the meter register.

In 2008, the District upgraded to a drive-by meter reading and data collection system, which enabled staff to collect billing data for an entire billing cycle in one week or less, ensuring that billing dates and the length of bill periods are consistent. The down side was that the drive-by system required a lot of maintenance and would have required the District to keep adding more staff as new customers were added in eastern Dublin and Dougherty Valley.

Initially, the District planned to upgrade the meter reading system over a two-year period, between 2014 and 2016. However, the current meter supplier stopped supporting the current meter system in 2012. To ensure timely and accurate billing, the District accelerated its upgrade schedule so the new equipment would be in place before the District’s stockpile of spare parts was exhausted.

In mid-September 2013, the District began installing the new system. They have completed installations in the Dougherty Valley and expect to be finished by early next year.