Water Meter Replacement Project

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.

1a) The entire old meter will be physically removed and replaced with a new Sensus iPerl meter.  

1b) In most cases, any leaks or breakage caused by the installation of the new water meter will be very localized, showing up within or immediately adjacent to the meter box. The contracted installer will fix any damage on the customer side of the meter that occurs within 2’ of the meter box as quickly as possible upon discovery of the issue, in order to limit disruption to the customer’s water service.  

2a) No, loss of the wireless connection will not affect water service, since the wireless communication system does not control the flow of water through the meter.   

2b) No, usage measurements will continue if the wireless connection is lost. The new Sensus meters continue to monitor water consumption even when the wireless communication system is not functioning. The AMI radio transmitters connected to each meter have enough memory to hold approximately 35 days of hourly meter reads.   

3) The costs of the meter replacement program and ongoing operations have been factored into the City’s water utility rates.  

The Sensus iPerl water meter does not have pressure-sensing capabilities.  

The radio transmitter connected to the water meter transmits a packet of hourly meter read data approximately once every four to six hours. If communication is not successful for a given transmission, the data that could not be sent during said transmission is included in the next transmission attempt. The radio transmitter has sufficient memory to hold up to 35 days of hourly meter read data. Therefore, even if communication is not successful for an extended period of time, the data are retained and will be sent once communication is restored. In addition, this system allows for the City to perform on-demand reads, wherein City staff can send a request remotely to the radio transmitter and “ping” it for a water meter read that is then provided to the City within a time range of a few seconds to two minutes. 

The City is installing a new AMI network. This is a Sensus water utility AMI solution. The expected battery life of the radio transmitters connected to each water meter is 20 years. The radio transmitters send hourly meter read data to the communication network approximately once every four to six hours.  

The meters currently have shutoff valves between the water main and meter. Shutoff valves on the customer side are not included in the project.  

We appreciate the enthusiasm!  Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate single replacements. The new meters will be installed according to a specific sequence, based on billing cycle groups. All meters within a certain geographic area must be installed during the same time window so as to avoid disruptions with utility billing.