by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
In the future, all water meters in Sartell might become so high-tech cellular that residents can instantly know how much water they use day to day and even if there is a leak and the homeowner happens to be on vacation.
The vacationing homeowner would be notified instantly via cell phone or online messaging because the “smart” water meter would detect the leak and send a wireless message.
At a recent Sartell City Council meeting, council members listened to a presentation about water meters made by the Metron-Farnier Co., based in Boulder, Colo. Already some of the high-tech water meters from a different company (Johnson Controls) have been installed at various places in Sartell as part of an 18-month pilot project. The city may entirely convert to such meters in the not-too-distant future.
The Metron-Farnier water meters are part of a cellular metering system that uses Verizon 4G (Long-Term Evolution) Network, with all data hosted by Microsoft Azure. No added infrastructure or maintenance is required for the system.
Each of the meters records data in five-minute intervals, which is sent to a tower the way cell-phone messages are sent. The data includes how much water is being used at any given time and place, as well as any problems that can occur, such as leaks. If a problem occurs, the homeowner or business is alerted instantly via a smart-phone application. The meters also have an automated upload/download function for billing reads.
The metering system can be adapted by a city over a period of time. Cities currently changing to the system, over time, include Blue Earth, Buffalo, Shakopee and Winona.
There are many benefits to the metering system, as summarized by Sartell City Administrator Mary Degiovanni. For example, it would reduce city-staff time spent on reading meters. It would also eliminate the confusion of summer sewer bills being based on winter water-use, which can fluctuate widely based on when the winter readings are made. Degiovanni noted a large number of residents never turn in a water-meter reading, which leads to large bills or confusing credits when staff reads the meters and adjustments are made between estimates and actual water usage. The new metering system, she added, would also make it much easier for water/sewer customers to track their own usage and for water-leak disputes to be resolved.
About 10 years ago, automated water-metering systems were installed in some Sartell businesses. The meters were “read” by staff driving by the business, reading the meters electronically from vehicles. It takes about a day and a half to read the meters in that manner, said Public Works Director John Kothenbeutel.
Kothenbeutel said automated water-metering systems are excellent because they can detect and warn about water leaks, which include leaky toilets – a huge cause of wasted water, Kothenbeutel noted. He also noted in Sartell, about 500 million gallons of water are pumped from wells each year.
Another benefit to cellular meters is customers can see print-outs of their water usage hour by hour, showing spikes of usage throughout the day or night. That way, people can learn to be more water-wise, more efficient, especially in such factors as watering of lawns and gardens.
Council members expressed interest in the cellular meters. They would be ideal for alerting people about freeze-ups or leaks, council member Steve Hennes said. Such a system is “smart,” said council member Pat Lynch, adding, “It’s the way the world’s going.”
The council took no action since the meeting was merely informational, but the council will revisit the proposal in the near future.
These are some of the hard-plastic, durable cellular water meters made by the Metron-Farnier Co. that might in the future replace most or all of the old water meters in Sartell.
