The City of Clermont, Florida is located in Lake County 22 miles west of Orlando; and, like its neighbor, has an economy driven largely by tourism.
Clayton was plagued with exceptionally high non-revenue water rates in the 50 percent range. The city attributed the problem to leaks in its water system (parts of which have been in place the 1920s) that are exasperated by high pressure levels needed to pump water to more than 3200 service connections throughout Clayton’s mountainous terrain located 2200ft above sea level.
Some wastewater applications require chlorine residuals greater than can be effectively monitored using DPD due to the oxidation of the Wurster dye to a colorless Imine. Such applications include industrial wastewater processes that inherently have a high chlorine demand thereby requiring a more robust monitoring method.
The city of Laredo, Texas, had been walking to read its 67,543 water meters – 59,138 residential and 8,405 commercial accounts – using a manual method that took up to ten staff on the streets nearly an entire month to read to meet a monthly billing schedule. With the dawn of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) systems, the City began their search for the right metering solution for the department’s needs.
Salisbury-Rowan Utilities in Salisbury, N.C. prides itself on providing excellent customer service. While its commercial and industrial customers comprise just 15 percent of total customer accounts, they generate 65 percent of the utility’s monthly billed volume. That’s why, when it came time to select a new meter reading solution, the ability to receive data-driven analytics to better understand, monitor and manage its operations was a top priority for the utility’s leadership team.
Municipality benefits from guaranteed savings, reduced costs, and customer service accolades
While utilities use sophisticated systems to supply clean water as well as collect and treat wastewater, the effort to manage incidents and outages leaves room for improvement. Water utilities often rely on manual processes to handle customer reports of leaks, loss-of-service or quality issues.
Most recently, Frankfort Village officials decided to replace its water and electric meters and implement an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) network to increase the operational efficiencies of its water and electric infrastructure in ways that would help improve employee safety, water and energy conservation and customer service while also reducing operational costs.
In January 2014, the city of Meadows Place, Texas, became the first city in Fort Bend County to fully convert to an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) fixed-network system. At the same time, the city also implemented a complete meter change-out for its 1,600 customers. Both projects represent large initiatives for the self-proclaimed “little city” with a population of 4,600 citizens.
Accurate and dependable water metering is more important than ever for today’s water utilities. Although utility managers are tasked with meeting tight budgets, it is imperative for utilities to invest in their water metering infrastructure. When making meter selection decisions, utilities must consider several factors. These include service size, application, and expected flow rates. There is no “one type fits all” application when it comes to meter technologies.
Water loss control can be challenging, confusing, and time-consuming. Effective water loss control requires a multi-step process, including water audit (also referred to as a water balance), component analysis and intervention.
For many years, ultrasonic metering has been utilized for large scale liquid and gas measurement. However, it is a relatively new technology for small meter applications — particularly those designed for potable water.
With a 2,400 square mile service area and approximately 40,000 customers to serve in southeastern Illinois, EJ Water Cooperative was having difficulties scheduling the nearly 4,000-mile monthly drive to complete a meter reading cycle. The rising cost of their aging system and the need to reduce operating costs prompted the search for a new meter reading system.
Today’s data driven utilities are paving the way for smart water systems through their use of location intelligence. Location influences all aspects of managing water — from protecting a sustainable supply to delivering safe drinking water. At Esri’s upcoming User Conference, which brings together more than 18,000 geographic information system (GIS) professionals from across the globe, utility companies will gather together to share successes and best practices regarding the myriad ways instituting spatial analytics technology has benefited their operations.
iPERL® (North America) smart water meters offer unparalleled, low-flow accuracy with high-flow durability. They use innovative magnetic technology to capture previously unmeasured low flow. iPERL meters increase your returns while maximizing your operational efficiency. And that can help you drive additional revenue.
Recordall Disc Series Meters from Badger Meter are an accurate, cost-effective solution for your residential metering needs. Combining the accuracy of positive displacement meters with the reliability and economy of nutating disc technology, the simple but efficient design of this meter makes it an ideal solution for measuring flow.
Mueller Systems extends its commitment to providing utilities with smart metering solutions designed to increase efficiencies, conserve energy and water, and improve customer service, with the addition of MegaNet™, a high-powered, long-range, fixed-network advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system. The MegaNet system complements Mueller Systems’ other metering solutions, including the Mi.Net® infrastructure network AMI system and HotRod™ automated meter reading solution.
As water rates rise, educating consumers on the importance of water conservation and how water usage can influence monthly utility bills will play an increasingly significant role in providing good customer service.
Within the Mi.Net System--Mueller Systems' fixed 2-way AMI system--the Mi.Host server collects data from and controls all Mi.Hub fixed-location, data collectors.
The MasterLinx Vehicle Reading System is a portable AMR system that's self contained in a small lightweight portable case and is used to capture meter RF transmissions for reporting and input into a billing system.
ProFieldENCORE’S modular design and open interface architecture means that you can license as many or as few of ProFieldENCORE’S modules as you need. Let our experts help you to design an implementation model that fits your specific needs and circumstances.
You need timely data to make critical and prompt decisions for your community. With a battery-powered Sensus® Smart Gateway Sensor Interface, gas and water utilities can connect to a variety of applications in all locations—even in areas where no power or land-based communications are available.
The LoRa Alliance is a non-profit association of members who are collaborating together to drive the adoption of a communication protocol that offers long range, long battery life and open architecture. For water utilities specifically, the LoRa wide area network (WAN) would allow devices from multiple manufacturers to be able to communicate with each other across long distances.
Historically, a mechanical water meter has lost accuracy over its life time as parts wear and its mechanics deteriorate. However, the new Sonata meter from Master Meter is a non-moving parts product utilizing ultrasonic flow measurement sensor technology to help reduce inaccurate water measurement.
Turning off water service for non-payment is one of the hardest parts of the job for utility workers. It can also be dangerous as agitated consumers can become verbally and sometimes physically abusive seeing their water service shut off. A new remotely-controlled meter helps remove workers from the chance of physical confrontation.
AMI solutions play an important role in the drought in the U.S. today. It gives the utilities the ability to collect very granular data about the consumption, as well as things that are going on in the distribution network. Joe Ball, Director of Solutions Marketing for Water with Itron, sat down with Water Online Radio to tell us more.
Getting consumers to buy in to the value of water has always been tricky. Many people have been hearing messages about saving water for years but to little effect.
Utility workers will remember a time when meter reading meant driving to a customer’s house, walking up to their meter and manually recording water use. Those days were replaced with the now standard use of walk- and drive-by meter readers. That standard, like its predecessor, is poised to be supplanted by the next wave in metering technology.
E-Series ultrasonic meters offer the latest in innovative electronic metering technology with the release of the new e-series ultrasonic plus with integrated shut-off valve. Offering all of the benefits of the original e-series meter, the ultrasonic plus features a patented flow restriction valve that supports open, closed, and partial closed settings. It allows water utilities to actuate the valve remotely to temporarily restrict water service safely and efficiently. Watch the full video to learn more.
Every day you work to optimize your operations, protect quality, find innovative solutions, and reduce costs.
Water Meters|Automatic Meter Reading Systems|Fire Service Meters|Control Instrumentation
Maximize efficiencies. Enhance revenue. Improve customer service. Conserve precious natural resources. You can do it all with ARB® Utility Management Systems™ from Neptune. Since 1892, Neptune has provided utility metering systems that save time, money, and labor.
Mueller Water Products, Inc. manufactures and markets products and services that are used in the transmission and distribution of safe, clean drinking water and in water treatment facilities throughout North America.
Water Meter Manufacturer|National Chain of Distributors for Sales and Service|Award-Winning AMR Wireless RF Meters
Badger Meter is a leading manufacturer and marketer of flow measurement and control products, serving water utilities, municipalities and industrial customers worldwide. Measuring a variety of liquids, from potable water to oil and lubricants, to industrial processes, our products are known for their high degree of accuracy, long-lasting durability, and their ability to provide valuable and timely measurement information to our customers.
Aclara, now part of the Hubbell Power Systems family of brands, is a world-class supplier of smart infrastructure solutions (SIS) and services to more than 800 water, gas, and electric utilities globally. Aclara SIS offerings include smart meters and other field devices, advanced metering infrastructure and software and services that enable utilities to predict and respond to conditions, leverage their distribution networks effectively, and engage with their customers.
ABOUT AMR, AMI & METERING
Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) is a system and process used to remotely collect water meter data without the physical presence of personnel at the reading point. The system can be configured to read multiple meters at exactly the same point in time such as midnight or at the end of every month. Automatic Meter Readers (AMR) also known as SMART Meters afford suppliers with a cost effective solution to meter reading. Automatic meter readers use a real time wireless communication network to connect digital water meters with a central management system. Digital water meters use ultrasonic measurement technology to provide precise meter readings. AMR is a key driver of efficiency for water utilities by lowering costs by optimizing maintenance interventions and lowering reading operations. An effective AMR system can only work if the water meter has a pulse out where a radio transmitter will be attached to it. Multiple meter readings will then be transmitted to a device called the repeater. Using GPRS the readings will be transmitted to a server. The data can then be obtained from the server for use. AMR devices incorporate smart image recognition technology (OCR – Optical Character Recognition), BPL (Broadband Power line) as well as PLC (Power line Communications) technologies.
Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) are the systems beyond simply the meters that allow utility professionals to not only collect and analyze water usage, but also communicate back to metering devices, either on request or on a schedule. These systems include electronic/digital hardware and software providing continuously available remote communications. A typical AMI solution equips the customer with advanced solid state, electronic AMR meters that collect time-based data. These meters have the ability to transmit the collected data through commonly available fixed networks such as Broadband over Power Line (BPL), Power Line Communications (PLC), Fixed Radio Frequency (RF) networks, and public networks (e.g., landline, cellular, paging). The meter data are received by the AMI host system and sent to the Meter Data Management System (MDMS) that manages data storage and analysis to provide the information in useful form to the utility.
Utilities are turning toward advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) systems as part of larger “Smart Grid” initiatives. AMI extends current advanced meter reading (AMR) technology by providing two way meter communications, allowing commands to be sent toward the home for multiple purposes, including “time-of-use” pricing information, demand-response actions, or remote service disconnects.
