Water meters and bills addresed by provider president

Franklin City Council received an update Tuesday on the functionality of the city’s new water meters.
The update came from Utility Metering Services President Chad Davis during the monthly city council meeting.
Davis addressed the status of the water meter project and answered questions from the council concerning higher water bills in Franklin.
“At this point of the project, we are finalizing the last few loose ends and missing pieces,” Davis said. “There are only a couple of meters left to be put in, and they are ‘on order’ at this time. Actually, you are probably about 99.9 percent ‘up and running.’”
Councilman Joseph Garrison broached the topic of faulty water meter readings in his district; specifically, neighbors being billed for each other’s meter readings.
Davis answered, “As our guys went through the system, we did put a few meters in the wrong spot. We admit that we had a few meters crossed. What we did was, at the end of the job, all the meters that were installed, all the data that was entered into the billing system took a crew, city crews as well, and we went around and verified every meter had the right lid, was installed correctly, and that there were no leaks. We did a ‘quality control’ at the end of the project and finished that up about four weeks ago.”
Garrison asked how Davis and UMS were sure that the corrected problem had been isolated at its source, i.e. — Had UMS confirmed that the utilities mix-up and affected statements had been localized to Garrison’s District D, or was it a systemic failure?
Davis confirmed that UMS had indeed confirmed that the mix-up had not been systemic, but offered a reason why citizens other than those in District D may have seen their bills increase, following the installation of the new meters.
“We replaced a lot of old meters that you had in your system,” Davis said. “So with the replacement program, your citizens are going to see their bills go up, because now, this reader is measuring every ounce of water that goes through the meter.
“Before we started this process, we did a sampling, and I think y’all ran about a 12 percent inaccuracy (rate). So, basically, what that means is that as your meters got older, they lost accuracy. Just like when you buy a new vehicle, and you put hundreds of thousands of highway miles on it, it wears out, as well.
“So, what you’ve gained with the system now, is that you can be proactive with your customers.”
Davis then touched on what could be expected in the future from the new water meter system.
“Now, as these readings come in on a daily basis, (my) staff is working on programs to alert your customers,” he said. “So that, as the data is coming in, if you have a leak at your house, they can let you know now that you have a leak at your house, or by the next day, instead of having to wait until you get a bill, 30 or 35 days (later). It alerts you.
“There have been a lot of people who have called in, and they (UMS staff) found that there was a leak, or a running toilet that was using a lot of gallons in a one-hour period.
“The new system takes a ‘snapshot’ every 15 minutes of usage. So, it looks for a three-hour period every 24 hours, of no usage. If it does not see that, it alerts the system the next morning.”
Davis said that UMS is also working on a downloadable app that will interface with Franklin citizens who wish to increase their proactivity concerning their water usage through the new meter system. The new app will provide alerts, updates, and real time views of water usage for every individual account.
Though the app is not yet available, Davis assured the council that it will be available soon. He advised that in the meantime, citizens are encouraged to call city hall if they have any questions, and to take advantage of the new systems information features to stay updated on their usage.
Questions concerning the new water meter system can be directed to Franklin City Hall: 337-828-6309, 337-828-6312 or 337-828-6313.