By COLE REIF
Great Bend Psot
There is no eye in the sky, but there is an ‘electronic eye’ when it comes to Great Bend’s new automated water meter reading system. As installation of the $2.46 million project continues throughout town, the Automated Meter Infrastructure on the already-installed meters can notify Great Bend’s Utility Superintendent if any meter has usage for 24 hours or more.
Public Works
Director Jason Cauley said the ability to recognize a leak was a contributing
factor in the utility upgrade.
"Just to remind everybody, these meters are so sensitive they will register a single drip," said Cauley. "That drip will send the notification. We know enough to determine there is a problem."
Cauley said Zenner USA is still working in Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 of the
residential areas, installing antennas to existing water meters to switch over
to the new system. The digital program sends the meter reading to the water
department’s billing office, eliminating the need for staff members to walk
around town gathering the readings.
"The main productivity side of it is easy," said Cauley. "It's the tediousness. Being out there every day for eight hours and doing the same thing. It's the frustrations of trying to make it through an easement, 100-degree weather or single-digit weather. It takes a toll on your mindset."
Cauley said there may be some disruptions in the early months of the new system,
but the days of estimated meter readings will be falling by the wayside.
There are approximately 6,500 commercial and residential water meters in the city’s service area.