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Plainview announces AMI smart water meter installations; city posts resident instructions
Summary
City staff and contractors outlined plans to replace residential and commercial water meters with advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), described installation steps, schedules and resident instructions including flushing guidance and contact information.
The City of Plainview announced a citywide conversion to advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) water meters during the July 22 council meeting and through repeated public notices recorded in the meeting transcript.
A recorded public notice stated, "Starting January 2024, Ameresco and Pedal Valves Incorporated contractors, along with the City of Plainview, will begin the installation of the new smart water meters. The project will update the City's water infrastructure as well as provide citizens with more detailed information about their water consumption." The notice said contractors will remove existing residential and commercial meters and replace them with AMI meters over the following months.
The notice detailed contractor procedures: installers will wear company-branded uniforms and vehicles; work is scheduled Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with occasional Saturdays if needed; installers will give a courtesy knock and explain the process to residents who answer; contractors will not enter homes; if no one responds and water is being used inside, crews will return later. Before meter work begins they will turn off water to the home, dig up the meter box, remove the old meter and install the AMI meter.
After installation, if an accessible outdoor faucet is present at the front or side of the residence, crews will flush the home’s lines and leave a door hanger confirming installation and flushing. If lines cannot be flushed at the property, the contractor will leave a door hanger with instructions for residents on how to flush lines themselves, such as running a bathtub on cold water or running an outdoor faucet for approximately one minute. Residents were specifically instructed not to use hot water while flushing because "this can cause air and sediment to settle in the hot water heater," the notice said.
If contractors cannot complete an installation because of a locked gate, inaccessible meter, a loose dog or other issues, they will leave a door hanger explaining the reason and instructions to reschedule. The notice directed residents with questions to call the city at (806) 296-1100 or email watermeterproject@plainviewtx.org, and to visit www.plainviewtx.org and click on "Plainview is Waterwise." The notice repeatedly identified contractors as Ameresco and Pedal Valve Incorporated.
The public announcement was played multiple times during the meeting and is available through the city’s communications channels, the city said.
No formal council vote on the AMI conversion was recorded at the July 22 meeting; the citations and procedures in this article reflect the city’s posted notice as read into the record.
