FPUD approves second phase of meter upgrades

Some of the Fallbrook Public Utility District's (FPUD) meters which are read by radio when FPUD personnel drive by the meter are approaching the end of their reliable lifespan along with the associated radio-based endpoints.

FPUD's board addressed the need for replacement on June 27, when a 5-0 vote authorized the purchase of 1,165 Badger Recordall meters of various sizes from National Meter and Automation, Inc., for $220,147.20 and the purchase of 1,176 encoder receiver transmitters from Inland Works Water Supply Co. for $102,441.44.

"This is a five-year program to replace all of our automatic meter reading equipment with advanced metering infrastructure," said FPUD general manager Brian Brady.

FPUD first purchased water meters with encoder receiver transmitters in 2002, which allowed meter reading to be converted to a drive-by system. The drive-by meter reading not only reduced the staff time needed to read the meters but also allowed for more accurate reads.

In July 2015 FPUD's board began the five-year program by approving the replacement of meters and radio-based endpoints. The July 2016 action covers the second year of the program.

On Feb. 22, the FPUD board voted 5-0 to approve a three-year professional services contract with WaterSmart Software, Inc., for a water use data program. The software, in conjunction with the advanced metering infrastructure, will provide the district with alerts of leaks or other high usage and will also provide for management and enforcement of use limit violations.

The customer portal of the WaterSmart software allows all-hours access to the on-line Web and mobile portal, real-time usage data, gallons per day usage information and a personalized water score, personalized water-saving actions, neighborhood comparisons, seasonal usage data, an estimated annual end use, historical trends and a history of user actions, and alerts.

"We recently implemented the Water Smart mobile app for our customers, and the AMI meter system will feed directly into that for customers to track their real-time usage," said Brady.