Does Your Meter Reading System Pass The Disaster Preparedness Test?

By Kristie Anderson, Badger Meter

One of the most difficult challenges a water utility may ever face is having to re-build or re-establish its operations in the wake of a natural disaster. Of course, the first priority is making sure all customers have access to clean, safe drinking water and sanitation services. After that, the utility also needs to make sure it can address its fiscal responsibilities, ensuring the long-term health and stability of the system, as well as equitable distribution of costs.

When a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, hurricane, fire or flood strikes, it’s paramount for utilities to be able to get their meter reading systems up and running as quickly as possible. While there are many benefits associated with more sophisticated automated reading systems and analytics technologies, they are also dependent on communications and computer network infrastructure, which can be damaged in a disaster, slowing recovery time and adding additional costs.