Water Meter Replacement Project

Thanks for reaching out! We may be able to look at your use in more detail and provide clarity on current water use. Please contact the Utility Billing Team at 206-275-7602, Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm.

To check for a leak, you can do so the same way you did before. First, make sure that all water sources are off in your home: no dishwasher, washing machine, irrigation, etc. Then go to your meter box, lift the lid, and open up the white dial from the middle. You will see a digital display. Watch it for about 2 minutes.  If you see numbers changing/registering, it is likely that you have a leak somewhere on your property. If water is moving through the meter, you will also see a circle with a “+” sign in it. If you have any questions about your water bill or water use, please contact Utility Billing at 206.275.7602.

Great question! While we work to get the remainder of the AMI base stations installed and the customer portal running, some Islanders will be able to get information from our Utility Billing team about hourly water use by calling 206.275.7602.  

Please note: Not all water meters on the island are able to be transmit data to the AMI system yet, and as a result, some residents/businesses will not have access to hourly water use until all base stations are operational.  Regardless, we always recommend calling our Utility Billing team if you have a question about a potential leak or abnormally high bill.

Please contact our Customer Service Team right away so we can address this issue!  You can reach us at 206.275.7600, Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5 pm .

Because it is not a 'macro wireless communications facility', the AMI project is not subject to the requirements of MICC 19.06.040, which contains the section noted in your questions.  However, the City (applicant) has provided a signed letter from the Principal RF Engineer at Sensus confirming that the system being implemented is designed and certified to comply with all applicable FCC Standards under CFR Chapter 47 of the FCC Rules.

We would be happy to look up your account and give you more information!  You can reach our Customer Service Team at 206.275.7600 Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5 pm.

The AMI project will add an automated transmitter to the existing meter. If the meter is too old to support the new technology, it will be replaced with the same sized meter as the property currently has. 

If you were to apply to increase the size of your water meter, it would be handled separately from the AMI project, and it is unlikely that the timing of your permitting process would align with timing of the meter change out at your property.  

Additionally, changing out the water service is more involved than switching out just the meter. It involves replacement of the water service line (from the meter to the main), tapping a new hole in the water main, and decommissioning the hole from the original meter. It involves a new meter setter box and the placement of a new meter (which will need to be compliant with the new radio-read technology). Most of the labor associated with this will be carried out by a private contractor hired by the homeowner. The labor will include excavation and restoration work in the street. The private contractor will coordinate work with the City, because the City Public Works Department will handle the portion of the work that touches the water main (the tap and abandonment). The contract we have with Pedal Valves does not include performing any of the additional steps required to upsize the water meter.

In addition to the cost of the private contractor, the homeowner would incur the cost of the water service permit fees which include inspection fees, one-time connection fees made to the water purveyor (SPU/City of Mercer Island) and a labor/materials deposit to cover the portion of the work completed by the Public Works Department, and Right of Way Use (ROW) permit fees, as well.

All water meters are being replaced like-for-like, meaning that a 5/8" meter will be replaced by the same size meter.

A decrease in the number of staff supporting the operations of the Water, Sewer and Stormwater utilities is not anticipated because of the meter replacement program.  Existing staff resources dedicated to manually reading water meters will be reallocated to other utility operational needs.

The AMI system relies upon low-powered radio frequency (RF) transmissions to convey information from each meter location to data collectors that will be installed throughout the island. The system operates on a communications frequency band for which an FCC license has been obtained that is dedicated solely for use by the City for this purpose. The system has been designed by the manufacturer to mitigate potential RF signal impedances by providing redundancy for the majority of meter locations (i.e., most meters will be able to communicate with more than one data collector). In addition, if communication with a meter is lost for an extended period of time, up to 35 days of data is stored locally within the radio transmitter connected to the meter and will be re-transmitted when communications are restored.