Wilmer to install new water meters

WILMER – The City of Wilmer will begin the installation of water meters this month.

The city council voted “yes” on the new water meters in July with a cost not to exceed $880,780.

The water meter installation will also include an Advanced Metering Infrastructure, which is an integrated system of smart meters, communications networks, and data management systems that enables two-way communication between utilities and customers.

Through the use of the AMI system, customers will be provided with more advanced functions that were not possible or were done manually in the past.

This includes the ability to measure water use, connect and disconnect service, and help with detection of leaks automatically and remotely.

The new smart meters will also offer customers and the city the advantage of facilitating important water usage data, accurate billing, water revenue optimization and overall scalability.

City staff explained in the July council meeting the city’s current meters are old and unable to accurately read water usage past 1,000,000 gallons of water.

That translates into the fact that the city is losing money every month due to the 20-plus-year-old water meters.
The city hired Performance Services, Inc. to provide the service for installing the new system and a promise customers could now view their usage everyday if they chose versus the old meter system of waiting 45 days.

To pay for the cost of the new meters and AMI, the city council previously authorized tax notes to implement this technology. In addition, the city was awarded a grant through the Bureau of Land Reclamation for a federal grant to offset the costs.