MONROE - In January 2012, the City of Monroe was preparing to replace obsolete water meters with a radio transmitting system, a three-year project estimated at a total cost of $1.3 million.
Today, that project, started in late November 2012, is about 58 percent complete.
About 2,600 of Monroe's 4,500 meters have been switched out so far, and the project is on track to be completed by the end of this year, according to Water Utility Supervisor Mike Kennison.
The end-of-life replacement time was bearing down on Monroe's old water meters, which have plastic parts that wear out and, therefore, need replacing every 10 years. However, production of the meters was discontinued in December 2010, and the city was running out of replacement parts in its stock.
So the city jumped ahead in technology.
The new meters have no moving parts, using magnetic flow sensors instead. That makes them more accurate, said Kennison. They are programmable, tamperproof and have a 20-year life cycle. Meter readings are sent via a dedicated radio signal.
Gathering usage readings on the old meters all across the city used to take about 250 hours of labor per quarter or about 1,000 hours per year, according to Kennison. Office labor handling the readings added another 30 hours per quarter, or 120 hours per year.
And water leaks could go on undetected for months, creating shocking bills for customers at the end of each quarterly water bill.
"When the system is completely changed out, the hours spent on reading meters will be time used for operators to do maintenance on the system that we could never get to," Kennison said Thursday.
Because the system can be set up as needed to get reports on a daily or weekly basis, it can help staff find leaks before they create a nightmare bill for customers. Catching leaks early will also save one of Monroe's natural resources.
"When fully operational, the new smart meters will be able to aid us with determining customers' leaks within a few weeks verses a full quarter or longer," Kennison said.
The city can also grab final meter readings within hours of a customer moving out of a particular residence.
"It will also eliminate the need for an operator to go out and read a meter when a property is sold," Kennison added.
The meter replacement is a mandatory installation, but property owners will not incur any costs for the installation. More information about Automated Meter Reading System is available on the city's website cityofmonroe.org under Departments > Public Works > Water Utility.
Today, that project, started in late November 2012, is about 58 percent complete.
About 2,600 of Monroe's 4,500 meters have been switched out so far, and the project is on track to be completed by the end of this year, according to Water Utility Supervisor Mike Kennison.
The end-of-life replacement time was bearing down on Monroe's old water meters, which have plastic parts that wear out and, therefore, need replacing every 10 years. However, production of the meters was discontinued in December 2010, and the city was running out of replacement parts in its stock.
So the city jumped ahead in technology.
The new meters have no moving parts, using magnetic flow sensors instead. That makes them more accurate, said Kennison. They are programmable, tamperproof and have a 20-year life cycle. Meter readings are sent via a dedicated radio signal.
Gathering usage readings on the old meters all across the city used to take about 250 hours of labor per quarter or about 1,000 hours per year, according to Kennison. Office labor handling the readings added another 30 hours per quarter, or 120 hours per year.
And water leaks could go on undetected for months, creating shocking bills for customers at the end of each quarterly water bill.
"When the system is completely changed out, the hours spent on reading meters will be time used for operators to do maintenance on the system that we could never get to," Kennison said Thursday.
Because the system can be set up as needed to get reports on a daily or weekly basis, it can help staff find leaks before they create a nightmare bill for customers. Catching leaks early will also save one of Monroe's natural resources.
"When fully operational, the new smart meters will be able to aid us with determining customers' leaks within a few weeks verses a full quarter or longer," Kennison said.
The city can also grab final meter readings within hours of a customer moving out of a particular residence.
"It will also eliminate the need for an operator to go out and read a meter when a property is sold," Kennison added.
The meter replacement is a mandatory installation, but property owners will not incur any costs for the installation. More information about Automated Meter Reading System is available on the city's website cityofmonroe.org under Departments > Public Works > Water Utility.