Starting on the East End in 2008, the Suffolk County Water Authority began swapping out nearly 390,000 water meters for updated, automated meter reading technology in an effort to eliminate slow, inefficient manual readers.
Now, $5 million under budget, the utility reports that nearly all of the meters within its service territory have made the transition. Many homes and businesses were switched over during regularly scheduled service appointments.
“Having virtually our entire service territory now covered by [automated meter reading] technology has allowed us to collect reads with approximately one-fourth the meter-reading staff required to collect manual reads,” said Authority CEO Jeffrey W. Szabo in a statement. “And the data provided by the technology has already allowed us to begin pinpointing the usage patterns of our largest water consumers. Having this information will help us to better conserve our vital drinking water supply.”
The automation process was expected to take a few more months. The number of meter reading staff has been reduced from 40 to 11 in the past decade, according to the water authority.
on Nov 12, 2018