City considers switchover to ‘smart’ water meters

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This article was published 24/10/2023 (711 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A $135-million upgrade could soon see Winnipeg switch to “smart” water meters, eliminating the need for manual readings, if council approves.

“(Homeowners would) get modernization, they get a more accurate reading, they get early notification if there’s a leak and the inconvenience (of letting someone in the house) will be eliminated… It’s a big-ticket item, for sure, but I think it’s worth doing,” said Coun. Brian Mayes, the head of the city’s water and waste committee.

A new proposal calls for the city to switch from “direct read” meters that make up most local water meters to a new advanced metering infrastructure system that should improve customer service, according to a staff report.

Since direct read meters can’t be read remotely, residential customers must submit three quarterly readings and let city staff access their homes to complete one reading per year. In Winnipeg, the average age of these devices is about 20 years old, which can lead to readings that “under-register” use. That cost the city about $18 million in lost revenue in 2022, the report states.

The new smart meters would communicate with a central location, allowing meters to be read remotely using radio transmitters. The city expects that would provide more accurate and timely readings, remove the need to submit readings, nearly eliminate estimated bills, remove the need for in-person meter readings and allow for early detection of leaks.

Mayes (St. Vital) said early leak detection should help prevent painfully high bills, which some residents have received in the past.

“We’ve had the awful cases of people getting water bills of $20,000 (or) $30,000… really horrible cases,” he said.

An average of 45 residential customers per year received water bills of more than $10,000 since 2018, with 81 per cent due to customers submitting an incorrect meter reading and 19 per cent due to undetected leaks, the report notes.

If council approves the proposal, funding will be considered during the city’s 2024-2027 budget process and new meters will be installed between 2025 and 2029.

The city estimates annual revenues will rise by $16.1 million and operating costs will fall by $2.2 million once implementation is completed.

“The payback on the investment is projected to be 10 years. The project has a positive 20-year net present value of $55.6 million,” the report notes.

The city projects it will have enough reserve funding to cover the cost but will still apply for third-party support, if possible.

“If we can obtain some funding from other levels of government, it’s going to reduce the impact (on water rates). It’s just for the benefit of ratepayers in the end,” said Ashleigh Campbell, assistant controller for the water and waste department.

Campbell said senior governments would benefit from the project, since identifying water leaks sooner would support water conservation and removing the need for city staff to travel to take manual water readings would reduce carbon emissions.

More than 130,200, or 60 per cent, of the city’s 217,000 residential and commercial water meters are considered to be past their service life, according to the report.

Council’s water and waste committee will vote on the proposal Monday.

The committee will also debate a $6.9-million cost overrun for one engineering contract within the North End sewage treatment plant upgrade, which will be covered by that project’s contingency fund.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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