As of the end of August, we will have installed the necessary base stations and infrastructure to begin upgrading meters across the city, starting with our 1.5” and 2” meters. This first significant phase of installations will include businesses, multi-family buildings, and single-family residences.
Base stations make up the wireless infrastructure that help make smart meters “smart.” They collect customers’ water use readings and connect them to our billing system through a secure network for more reliable, on-time bills.
Smart meters will provide real-time data of your water use to SWBNO, allowing for accurate bills without SWBNO physically reading your meter every month. While the first meters will be installed starting in 2023, the program will take three years to fully implement.
The program will replace nearly 140,000 water meters with reliable, efficient, and industry-proven digital technology. This smart metering system will allow us to accurately measure and bill customers for the water they use.
Most very high bills result from estimating many months in a row. Without actual meter reads to bring charges back into line with a customer's true use, too-low estimations can result in a backlog of unbilled service.
When that happens, a customer may recieve a high bill once an actual meter read takes place and months of underbilling are corrected at once.
Door Hanger Program
Our Meter Readers have begun hanging doorhangers. The front of the tag marks that a SWBNO employee visited the property and what actions were taken. For instance, it will alert the customer if a Meter Reader is unable to read a meter. The back communicates updates regarding the Smart Meter Program rollout.
Questions?
Want to dispute your bill? Learn more about our Bill Dispute Process here. The first step is to call 504-52-WATER (Select your language option and then press 4 for Customer Service.)
Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page to learn more about your account, billing or smart meters.