WaterSmart Meter Project – Advanced Metering Infrastructure to support our Drought Response
City Manager David Kelley
Cloverdale is committed to increasing the City’s resiliency to cope with and respond to drought conditions. As part of the City’s continued drought response efforts, the City of Cloverdale was awarded a $3,005,000 grant from the State Department of Water Resources (DWR) in September as part of the Urban and Multi-benefit Drought Relief Grant Program to help fund water supply and distribution system projects across the city.
The DWR grant agreement included funding for the following three projects:
1. Advanced Metering Infrastructure Upgrades
2. Supervisorial Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Expansion
3. Well Replacement and Rehabilitation
The City is beginning its first project funded under the Grant, which will replace and upgrade approximately 3,300 existing water meters throughout Cloverdale to an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system. This innovative “WaterSmart Meter” technology is part of the City’s continuing efforts to conserve water, enhance customer service, replace aging infrastructure, and be more efficient.
Currently, City staff manually read customer’s water meters once a month to record water use readings. The Smart Meters will provide safe and secure remote updates to the City’s customer portal in near real time.
The WaterSmart Meter upgrades will allow the City to:
• detect leaks within its water system in near real time so that repairs can happen quickly
• provide customers increased billing transparency
• streamline staff time allotted to meter reading and inputting data for more efficient customer service
• replace aging infrastructure
• reduce fuel consumption and costs associated with driving
• conserve over 10 million gallons of water each year
In addition to conserving resources, the WaterSmart Meter upgrades will save water customers money by allowing residents to manage and monitor their water consumption through an online web portal. Customers will be able to:
• review near real-time water use
• recognize potential water leaks and respond to needed repairs quickly
• avoid unintentional high water consumption by adjusting irrigation activities and systems to maximize conservation
• Improve water efficiency
The existing meters will be replaced with cutting edge Neptune MACH 10 Ultrasonic Water Meters. These new meters will provide:
• high resolution measurements and sustained accuracy
• lead-free and corrosion resistant long-term use
• meet or exceed American Water Works Association standards
• Made in the USA
Water use data will be sent wirelessly from the WaterSmart Meter using an encrypted, low powered radio signal for less than one minute every day. Water customers will be able to login to the City’s WaterSmart Portal to review water use and pay water bills.
The WaterSmart Meter Project is estimated to cost $4.2 million with $1.6 million funded by the grant award. In addition the City Council committed approximately $1.0 Million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds toward the project cost. The remainder of the project costs will be funded through an equipment Lease that will be paid for by rate revenue. The City’s revenue recovery model calculates how the project costs will be recouped by the City over time. For example, replacement of existing meters with WaterSmart meters with a guaranteed accuracy rate of 98.5% can be expected to recover over 26 million gallons of water consumption, translating to an estimated annual revenue recovery of nearly $200,000 for the City. In addition, the City’s annual operation and management costs associated with meter readings and repairs are estimated to be nearly $200,000. These costs are expected to be reduced by as much as 75% with the upgraded system.
Residents can expect to see work progress across the city over the next year. The City’s contractor will replace and upgrade every customer’s water meter, equipped with communication technology that will allow customers to monitor their water use. If a customer’s meter box is damaged or if it is undersized for the new meter and equipment, the meter box will either be repaired or replaced. It is anticipated that customers might typically experience approximately 30 minutes of water shutoff during installation, unless there are further complications.
The City’s contractor will be installing antennas on City poles and the County tower that will allow the customers’ AMI meter to communicate with the City’s Customer Service WaterSmart Portal. The City’s Utility Billing Team will be receiving equipment and software upgrades that would allow it to detect leaks in the water system and securely share water use information with customers through a web portal.
When completed, customers will be able to see their own daily water usage and make informed decisions on how to manage their water. As the project reaches completion, the City will provide updates and share how customers can connect to the WaterSmart web portal to monitor their own water usage.
Funding for the Water Meter AMI project has been provided in full or in part from the Budget Act of 2021 and through an agreement with the State Department of Water Resources.
Learn More!
Please contact David Kelley, City Manager or visit https://www.cloverdale.net/266/Utilities-Department
City of Cloverdale City Hall
124 North Cloverdale Blvd. • Cloverdale, CA 95425
707-894-2521
