Maximize Efficiency Of Meter Reading With A Cellular Network

To cover a large, rural service area, the water/wastewater utility chose to upgrade to a cellular network to optimize billing, recover non-revenue water and improve operations.

Augusta County Service Authority provides public water and sewer service to the residents of Augusta County, Va. The area is the second largest county in the state, and meter readers would travel about an hour each way to conduct reads on the edge of the service area. Due to the rural nature of the area, many water meters are not located directly in front of homes or otherwise obviously located, which created an additional challenge for meter technicians conducting their monthly reads.

With a cellular solution from Badger Meter, the utility was able to improve their level of service to the community, increase accuracy in water metering and ensure safety for meter technicians. Today, ORION® Cellular endpoints allow operators to view 15-minute meter reads up to 4 times per day, compared with one read every two months with previous drive-by and touch read systems. Data resolution has also improved, now accurate to 1 or 0.1 gallon resolution compared to the 1,000 gallon resolution of the past. Using BEACON® Software as a Service (SaaS), the utility can view and update assets remotely and in real-time for optimized visibility and control.