Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Meters And Conservation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Punta Gorda: city narrows unread meters to under 100; AMI radio issues under study; watering restrictions remain
Summary
Utilities staff reported progress locating unmetered accounts, identified AMI radio propagation and some mechanical issues as causes of remote-reading failures and reminded residents of once-weekly watering restrictions and meter accessibility requirements.
Punta Gorda utilities staff told the council the city has made measurable progress in its meter-reading program and that engineers are investigating both radio propagation and equipment failures as causes of remote-reading problems.
“At this point, we’re down below a hundred” missing meter reads after two complete meter-reading cycles, Tom Spencer, utilities director, said. He said the city reassigned three utilities staff to assist with manual meter reading and that procurement has issued a solicitation for a meter-reading contract; a pre-bid meeting was held.
Spencer said field checks show that in many cases the mechanical meter and register are functioning and that the primary failures are in the AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) remote reporting equipment. “The meters actually work… the registers… I would say 90% of the situations we found are working,” Spencer said, adding that the AMI portion that transmits readings is where most failures appear.
Engineers will return for on-site investigation to perform a meter study and radio-propagation testing, Spencer said; staff will present final findings after the study. Council members asked whether replacement of all meters is needed; Spencer said it is premature to decide and that the engineers also see mechanical/equipment issues in some instances.
Spencer also reminded residents that the city remains under emergency watering restrictions; he said watering is limited to once a week, there is no watering on Sundays, and watering between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. is prohibited under Florida administrative rules. He said meter-reading crews are finding inaccessible meters and that staff will issue warnings before referring cases for code enforcement.
No formal council action was taken at the pre-agenda meeting; staff said a fuller presentation will be available at the regular meeting.
