Fort Worth residents have recently seen contracted crews digging around their water meters. These crews are not searching for stores of gold hidden by the Jesse James Gang or others. Instead, they are merely cleaning out the areas around the meters preparing for upcoming events.
Fort Worth Water has contracted for the installation of increased technology to “provide customers information and opportunities to monitor and reduce their water usage.” This means that the Fort Worth Water Department is preparing to install water meters enhanced with radio transmitters to more-efficiently convey water usage statistics to the Water Department’s systems.
The installation of these new meters will “improve both customer engagement and utility operations through the implementation of advanced technology.”
The process begins with the meter boxes being cleared of dirt and debris to provide a clear path to the meter. Next, the meter lids will be removed and taken to a nearby site where a hole will be cut in them before they are put back into place. The holes are “capped until workers return to exchange the current meter with the new meter with a radio transmitter unit.”
Residents in the Deer Valley subdivision of South Fort Worth are currently undergoing this endeavor. On October 19th, crews were seen clearing the dirt and debris from the meter boxes in the neighborhood. As the process is expected to “range from a few days to about a month’s time,” the process in this neighborhood should be completed by mid-November at the latest.
According to videos posted by Fort Worth Water, the installation process has been contracted to AquaMetrics. Information on how to identify an AquaMetrics employee and what to expect during the process can be found in the video linked here.
Fort Worth Water also estimates that this program will save approximately 1.8 billion gallons of water each year. This is exhibited through their overview video found here.
The MyH2O program being implemented is estimated to reduce usage from an average of 158 gallons per day to 152 gallons per day. As experts recommend a normal person drink a gallon of water each day, that’s enough water for six people that each household can save.
The new meters will allow consumers to view their usage daily instead of having to wait until the end of the month. Similarly, it will provide a savings to the Water Department as the meters will no longer require someone to physically walk through neighborhoods to check the meters. Billing will also become more uniform as usage totals can be gathered at any time and not have to wait for the “on-foot readers” to report back the figures.
A check of the Deer Valley neighborhood shows that, as of the writing of this article, the second step in the process has been completed as many, if not all, of the meter covers have the rubber caps have been installed. This neighborhood should see the completion of this process soon.
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