Seamless Water Monitoring Ahead: Alcester Adopts Cellular AMI

“Prior to this meter upgrade project, we had kind of a hodgepodge mix of different brands of water meters and software,” recalled Hodgson. “Our staff was changing, and it didn’t make sense for us to keep reading manually.”

The water and wastewater superintendent was retiring, and Hodgson recalled that a meter upgrade has “always been a need that was amplified by the retirement of the meter reader.”

Moving Toward Automation

Three to four working days out of the month, the City’s Water/Wastewater Superintendent would walk the town together to capture water meter readings using a handheld device. Once completed, the Deputy Finance Officer would record the readings by hand from the touchpad before manually entering the data into the old billing software program.

“The biggest issue with our previous system was the time and the labor involved monthly: taking somebody out of the office for three to four days and taking our Water/Wastewater Superintendent away from his more pressing duties,” said Hodgson. “[Sometimes,] you wouldn't know that a touch pad wasn't functioning properly until you got back to the office and went to write those numbers down, and then you'd have to go back out after you got done transcribing all that data to do the work again.”

Implementing a Smart Metering System

The utility began looking for a new meter system with the help of Metering and Technology Solutions (MTS). The authorized Badger Meter distributor recommended the Badger Meter cellular AMI system using the BEACON dashboard in Spring 2024.

“The cloud-based system for monitoring water loss and leaks really sold us,” said Hodgson. “The ease of use of the cellular technology with those endpoints just made much more sense versus the drive-by method or having to install a radio antenna on top of a water tower [to get reads back to us].”

Today, the city has nearly completed meter change-outs across the network, installing Recordall^® Disc Series Meters and E-Series^® Residential Ultrasonic Flow Meters. ORION^® Cellular Endpoints help transmit flow rate data to the utility’s BEACON^® dashboard, displaying 15-minute interval data that helps utility staff manage resources and bill customers more accurately than ever before.

“[Prior to working with MTS and Badger Meter], monitoring water leaks and unbillable water loss [were big problems for us],” said Hodgson. “For instance, we knew that our county fairgrounds had some water leaks, but we couldn't identify the location or the cause because it wasn't a big enough leak that it was visible [with our previous solution]. We changed the meter at the fairgrounds and had our answer the very next day.”

Faster Leak Detection and Field Response

Only 24 hours after installing the new meter, a 40-plus gallon an hour water leak was identified and located at the fairgrounds. Public works staff was dispatched to the leak location the same day and repairs corrected a major source of water loss for the utility. The data from the new meters also saved utility staff time and resources they would have previously spent looking for the leak, as the location was easily identified thanks to the increased flow meter accuracy.

Utility billing practices have also been optimized. New, reliable flow data is delivered to the utility’s BEACON dashboard and billing software automatically.

“Our meter reading has gone from that three- to four-day process of getting the readings [manually] and almost another full day of finalizing the billing file, printing the bills, etc. to a process that takes less than an hour from start to finish with the BEACON dashboard,” said Hodgson. “The data that you can acquire and the relationship it helps you build with your customers is hands down just invaluable to the business that we're conducting. It just makes life so much easier.”

Automation Drives Transformation

Customers no longer have to wait until the next billing cycle to find out they may have a leak on their property, as this data is delivered more frequently. In many cases, the utility is able to notify residents of a potential leak before it results in a large bill. The EyeOnWater^® app allows the customer to view the same water usage data as the utility, providing peace of mind for those users enrolled in the free app.

Alcester has a large snowbird population, so keeping an eye on homes that are vacant for long periods of time has been great for building rapport with customers too, Hodgson says.

“We can keep an eye on those homes and make sure that we're continuing to see no current flow detected when we know that these residents are out of town. If we start to see water use, I can call the customer and can get somebody into the house to make sure it's not something that needs to be taken care of right away,” he said.

Less than six months since the first meter was replaced, the City of Alcester will have completed its AMI meter upgrade. Up next, utility staff will begin on the next phase of the project: fine-tuning water management with zoning and district metering.

Hodgson and his team are working with their water supplier, South Lincoln Rural Water to add additional capabilities so that they can view water supply versus demand to further narrow down water loss within the city.

“Data is everything. [Before the project] we had a ton of billed water use but no insight into where the water was going, Said Hodgson. “Working with Metering Technology Solutions and Badger Meter has been fantastic. It was a wise decision for the city of Alcester and if there is a small community like ours that's looking for a partner on their project, this would be the option I would recommend, hands down, every day.”

This case study appears in Water Finance & Management Magazine.