The City of Colona has been conducting a mandatory Water Meter Replacement Program at no cost to residents. Water meters and associated parts will be replaced in all residential homes and businesses throughout the City. This project is needed because many of the City's water meters are more than 20 years old and have exceeded their life expectancy.
The City’s Water Department reads approximately 2,100 meters via three separate reading systems (Radio, Touch Pad and PIN). The City still has a significant portion of meters that require “walk-up” manual reading. The PIN reading system has become obsolete and can no longer receive support. These older water meters have been in service for 20 to 33 years and have reached the end of their useful lives and frequently require bills to be estimated. In order to provide a more cost effective and efficient service to the residents, the Water Department began replacing meters that require manual reading with meters that utilize Radio Read. Recently, the PIN reading equipment has begun to fail much more frequently. This has caused a tremendous strain on resources for the Department, and the number of estimated reads has increased. Due to this fact, the Water Department will be accelerating the Water Meter Replacement Program.
The new water meters will allow for the consolidation of the reading systems. This will drastically increase the efficiency of the meter reading process. The new meters will also have an expected 20-year battery life. Once these meters have been replaced, all the meters in Colona will have a wireless device that transmits the meter readings on a licensed radio frequency over a short distance to a handheld or mobile device.
Residents will be contacted via letter and/or a door posting notifying them that their household meter requires a change-out. The resident will then call City Hall to schedule a meter change-out appointment. During this appointment, a Water Department employee will visit the home to replace the water meter, free of charge. Each appointment takes about 30 minutes to complete, during which the water will be shut off for about 15 minutes.
As part of the mandatory program, water meters and meter reading equipment located on properties will require replacement.
Each water meter will have a pre-installed E-Coder R900i radio frequency meter interface unit. With the E-Coder R900i there are no external wires or units on the outside of your home. Readings are done remotely through a fixed network radio connection. Each meter has a unique identification number that ensures that only your reading is being assigned to your account.
The meter is powered by a battery and the expected life of the battery is 20 years which coincides with the expected life of the new meter.
Failure to upgrade your water meter in the allotted time frame will result in loss of water service and a $75 water turn off/on fee will be added to your account.
Per City Ordinances Chapter 8-1-5 Section B-6 - Authority to shut off Water Supply - The City Collector, Public Works Director, or Water Superintendent, the Mayor or the Chairman of Public Works Committee may authorize an employee of the City to shut off the water supply to any dwelling where the best interest of the City is served. (0-15-012, 9-14-2015)
You can read your own meter by shining a flashlight at the LCD panel. The display will toggle between meter reading (9 digits) and current flow rate (3 digits). The flow rate is the average rate of flow in the last 12 seconds. This will allow homeowners to monitor water usage and proactively manage leaks and water usage.
The display will show a faucet icon when it detects a leak; a flashing faucet indicates an intermittent leak such as a leaky toilet flapper valve; a faucet icon that is displayed constantly represents a continuous leak such as a hose left on outside. In addition, the LCD panel displays a flow indicator arrow which confirms if meter is currently in use. This would also indicate if there is low flow water usage or reverse flow through the meter.
