Open house about smart water meters this Tuesday

July 22, 2024, 9:45 am
Ryan Kiedrowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Smart water meters are coming to Moosomin, and a special open house meeting with representatives from KGS Group will be on hand to answer any questions about the new devices.
David Germin, an environmental engineer with KGS, says the meeting is an opportunity to talk about the general procedure and plans so residents have an idea of what to expect.

“They have an opportunity to ask questions, get a feel for how they’re going to book appointments, and that kind of thing,” he said. “And then, what sort of features that their new system will be able to do—things like being able to track their water usage with an app. We just want to get the information out there that it’s coming, lay out a rough schedule so that people aren’t surprised when contractors are calling to make appointments.”

The smart meter system will streamline how meters are read, providing not only accurate data, but also alert of any leaks throughout the system.

“It will all be remotely transmitted to the town office, and then with a couple clicks of a button, they’ll be able to integrate it into their billing software and make that whole process a lot smoother,” Germin explained. “There’s going to be enhanced features with it, like pressure monitoring, and leak monitoring.”

Instead of having someone physically go around collecting meter readings, the new system will collect readings via a dedicated radio system with an antenna on the water tower. Information collected is then transmitted back to the Town Office for processing.

“People will be able to get a better idea of their water usage,” Germin said, detailing another important feature for residents. “Each one of the meters has a remote disconnect feature in it. So that will offer residents some additional protection in the sense that if there was a high flow detected in a house somewhere, indicating a break, potentially, that meter could actually be shut off from the town office and possibly protect the home from further damage.”

Conversely, the meters will be able to detect low flow situations—saving water and ultimately money on a utility bill.

“If they’re seeing a constant low flow from somebody, they can say, ‘hey, we’re noticing this constant low flow, you should maybe check your toilets or whatever because maybe you got a stuck valve or something’ and you’re just wasting a ton of water,” Germin said. “That’s not only going to benefit the town, but also benefit the residents in reducing their water bill.”

A schedule of water meter replacement will become more clear after the open house meeting, but Germin anticipates the changeover to begin within the next month, depending on when the meters arrive.

The actual time required to change out an old water meter for a smart one is quick in most cases, unless access to the water meter is obstructed.

“If it’s behind drywall, or a whole bunch of appliances or in somebody’s crawl space, it will add time, of course, but if it’s right there and accessible, it should be a fairly quick appointment,” Germin said.

There’s no cost for the new meters, and residents can find out more about the smart water meter replacement program during the open house starting at 1 pm on July 23 at the Conexus Convention Centre.