Remotely Read Meters Put Technology in Arlington Residents' Hands
By Traci Peterson, Arlington Water Utilities
Posted on January 09, 2020, January 09, 2020

Arlington Water Utilities recently surpassed the 70,000 mark in number of remotely read meters installed, putting the city about two-thirds through its Advanced Metering Infrastructure, or AMI, replacement program. 

Arlington Water Utilities recently surpassed the 70,000 mark in number of remotely read meters installed, putting the city about two-thirds through its Advanced Metering Infrastructure, or AMI, replacement program.

The new remotely read meters are the same style and accuracy used in the water industry for years. The change is that the new meters are remotely read. Instead of a meter reader visiting meter locations, the AMI system transmits readings throughout the day over a secure radio network. The water department plans to install about 9,000 additional meters yearly, until the project is complete.

The new technology is allowing Arlington residents to take advantage of several new features, including:

  • Continuous usage alerts - The automatic email alerts are sent when remote read water meters register continuous water usage at a rate of 1 gallon or more hourly for 48 consecutive hours. That means water is being used in the home every hour for 48 hours. Continuous usage is unusual for a residential account. It can result in a higher than normal monthly city services bill. About 2,400 alerts have been sent each week since the program started this fall.
  • High bill and high usage alerts – Customers can sign up for high water usage and high bill alerts by visiting www.arlingtontx.gov/KnowYourH2O. When water usage is on track to exceed the alert limit in a billing period, an email message will automatically be sent to the email address associated with a customer’s Know Your H2O registration.

Customers also will receive emails after they have exceeded their alert threshold. Alerts will be sent daily as long as usage is on track to exceed the limit and after the limit has been exceeded. However, customers can stop receiving notifications by logging in to Know Your H2O and changing their threshold alert. A November survey of customers who have signed up for email alerts showed that the majority of respondents signed up because they want to prevent high bills or they were responding to an unusually high bill.

For more information about how Arlington Water Utilities is putting technology to work, visit www.arlingtontx.gov/water and get tips for being more water efficient at www.SaveArlingtonWater.com.

Arlington Water Utilities recently surpassed the 70,000 mark in number of remotely read meters installed, putting the city about two-thirds through its Advanced Metering Infrastructure, or AMI, replacement program.

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