INNISFAIL - The water meter guy is soon coming to the doors of every Innisfailian.
The town is finally launching its ambitious program to replace all 3,000 faulty water meter registers in the community with high-tech units designed to give citizens and businesses more peace of mind and greater control on usage. Letters will be sent out to all homeowners and businesses by the end of the week reminding citizens of the mandatory upgrade.
The new program, which was passed by council late last August, was supposed to start in the fall and be completed by mid-spring, but because the upgraded meters operate on a fixed network system, a delay in receiving necessary permit approvals meant a delay in installations, said a town media release.
"It was a radio issue, and obtaining the right frequency," said Rod Fraser, the town's director of operations, adding the town-wide installation program will take most of the spring and summer and probably into fall.
The upgraded registers will replace ones installed in town from 2010 to 2012. They were supposed to have a lifespan of between 12 and 15 years, but failures, due to faulty batteries from an engineering error, were occurring in the third year. Instead of having all those registers replaced, the town opted to invest in the next generation of fully automated units with Master Meter Canada.
The replacement registers will measure water consumption by the hour as opposed to just monthly as with the current unit. They will arrive equipped with remote reading capabilities, which will streamline the water usage data collection process for both property owners and town staff. Citizens will also
have the ability to monitor their water consumption via their smartphones, while town staff will be able to collect twice-daily water meter readings instead of just once a month.
“The nice thing about this is the technology offers so much to the consumer. This will give consumers the opportunity to see what happens to their consumption,” said Fraser. “Residents and businesses will soon have the ability to monitor, manage and, if necessary, adjust their water consumption in an environmentally responsible manner, perhaps even lowering their monthly utility bills in the process.
“Ultimately, the ability to do so will remain within their own hands, but this new tool will certainly assist them in their conservation efforts," he added.
The replacement program will cost just over $573,000, with more than $485,000 budgeted for meter register replacement and another $88,000 expenditure for the installation of a fixed area network, implementing a customer service engagement bundle and covering training costs. The town has said there will be no direct cost to citizens for the replacement program or changes to their utility rate. The total cost is coming out of the town's water reserve account.
In the meantime, the town is encouraging citizens to book appointments online for their new register installation, or call Master Meter Canada at 403-341-1685. Fraser said Master Meter Canada will also be contacting citizens to set installation appointments, which he said would take less than half an hour.
"I believe they (Master Meter Canada) are targeting around 20 minutes," said Fraser. "The best scenario is for people to call them as it would be more convenient."
