New York City City Smart Water Metering

About the city. New Yorkers waste too much water: The New York City Department of Environmental Protection manages the city’s water supply, providing more than 1.1 billion gallons of water each day to more than 9 million residents across New York State through a complex network of nineteen reservoirs, three controlled lakes, and 6,200 miles of water pipes, tunnels, and aqueducts.

Goal

The aim of the project is to give customers more information about their daily water usage, in turn assisting conservation and leak detection.

Moreover, the project aims to cut water waste, save energy and reduce costs.

Implementation period. Installation of automated water meter reading (AMR) technology began in 2009.

Fact

A study by Oracle, which surveyed 300 water utility managers, found that 68% of them consider that the installation of smart meter technology is highly important, and one-third are considering its implementation

Solutions

The meter reading receivers are part of the New York City Wireless Network operated by the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications.

The automated meter reading system consists of small, low-power radio transmitters connected to individual water meters that transmit readings every 6 hours to a network of rooftop receivers throughout the city. Close monitoring allows the Department of Environmental Protection to send invoices detailing exact usage, ultimately on a monthly basis and available online, as opposed to current checking accounts issued every three months, so ratepayers pay exactly what they use each payment cycle. Accurate billing is aimed to provide ratepayers the opportunity to study their water use more closely and look for ways to save money. Improved bills also allow building owners to identify leaks that need repair and often prove costly.

The total cost of the citywide installation is $252 million.

Challenges

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has tested two AMR technologies in parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan.

DEP chose Aclara technology after determining that It was more effective at transmitting signals in the densely populated urban environment of New York’s city. AMR equipment operates on a low-power frequency band reserved specifically for transmitting meter readings. This is unlikely to interfere with the operation of any other electronic equipment.

Team

New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), The meter system was developed by Aclara Technology.

Timeline

• By 2010 Automated meter reading (AMR) units had been installed for half of the city’s customers, 417,000 in general.
• In 2010, the city began releasing AMR Online, a NYC-based web application.gov where customers with real estate using a smart water meter can view water consumption on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis.
• The free installation for property owners had begun in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens and had been continued in Staten Island with installation completed on all 826,000 meters in New York City by 2011.

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