Weaverville – The Town of Weaverville’s Public Works Department has ended a decade-long project which replaced more than 3,100 manually read water meters with radio read ones.
Dale Pennell, Weaverville Public Works Director, said many of the old meters were manufactured by the same company who makes the new radio read meters allowing a water department worker to replace just the registering part of the meter. Meters in the town’s water system made by other manufacturers forced workers to replace the entire body taking more time and effort.
Metron makes the new radio-read meters. They work by sending a signal from the meter to a laptop located in a vehicle as it drives by its proximity. A low-profile antenna located on the surface is connected to the meter via a wire. “As it [the data collecting vehicle] drives by, it transmits the current reading to the computer in the truck. Once the route is driven, the data is downloaded back at the office and used to invoice the customer,” says Pennell.
Asked how the computer distinguishes between meters, Pannell says that each meter has a serial number that it also transmits with the water usage data. At the time of installation, the serial number is reigstered as belonging to that specific customer.
Pennell said that the meters keep a record of water usage on an hourly basis which can be helpful if someone has an unusually high water bill. The water department can go back and pinpoint the anomaly in usage. “For instance, if a toilet hangs [continually using water] where there was no [water] usage at night, now, there will be [and the customer can try to understand what might have costed the water usage].”
Asked how long it took to replace each meter, he said most jobs required a two-person crew and it could take as much as a half of day to as little as 15-20 minutes depending on the size, depth and whether the entire meter has to be replaced or just the measuring valve.
Pannell said they completed the project about four months ahead of schedule. Asked about the danger of the signal to humans, Pennell said the strength of the signal was less than that of a cellphone.
“We have a tremendous crew in getting all of them done he said of the water maintenance crew, which consists of five or six guys, including their boss Rick Harper, the water maintenance superintendent.
The cost of meters can also vary by size. A two-inch meter costs $500 whereas a three-quarter-inch meter used in most residential units is $150. Pennell said the town council set aside $40,000 annually for a number of years to cover the project’s cost. Each meter has a 10-year guarantee. “We’ve never had one fail except for the internal battery,” explained Pennell, and said the batteries are covered under the warranty too.
Asked if they had a goal of how many meters they wanted to replace each month, “We didn’t,” said Harper explaining that they also had to fix “water leaks and everything else. “So it just depended on the weather and if we could get to it…We’ve changed out a little over 3,100 meters. That’s how many we’ve got in the system.” At times, Harper said, the crew could knock out 100 meters in three to four days.
So, do the new meters save time?
Harper told the Tribune that it used to take two to three weeks to read all the meters in the system. Now, it’s done in two to three days with the data-gathering vehicles driving along at about 25 miles per hour.
The meter reading is now a one-man operation with the computer sending out an audio sound as well as changing colors on the computer screen to let the reader know that it has been read.
“A tremendous savings in time,” interjected Pennell. “Our water department has to maintain over 60 miles of water lines that runs from the Ivy Hill water plant to the golf course to Woodfin… and this is our whole five-man crew…being able to free up one of that crew for several days every month helps out makes a big difference to us.”
Pennell said not only is it a time benefit but a monetary benefit to the town and that the meters are accurately read, eliminating human error.