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Sigurd hears proposal for smart water-meter pilot to detect leaks and improve billing
Summary
Peterson Plumbing representatives outlined a proposal to install Zener radio-enabled meters and optional automatic shutoff valves in Sigurd, saying hourly reads and alarms would spot leaks earlier and improve billing accuracy. Councilors signaled interest in a pilot program but deferred a formal decision to a future meeting.
Brad Christiansen of Peterson Plumbing presented a proposal to the Sigurd town council to replace or retrofit the town’s water meters with radio-enabled Zener devices and to run a pilot program in new subdivisions and selected problem locations.
The system Christiansen described would provide hourly meter readings transmitted to town billing software instead of relying on a single monthly manual read, enabling staff to detect leaks and unusual use earlier. “The system that we’re looking at doing for you guys, it gives hourly reading updates,” Christiansen said. He told the council that replacing older meters would also improve revenue because aging mechanical meters undercount usage.
Christiansen and a technical colleague, identified as Kevin, described costs and options. Christiansen said replacing a meter and adding a radio would run about $320; replacing just a register and adding a radio (when meters are compatible) would be about $255. The annual network fee for the radio service was stated as roughly $6 per device per year under the vendor option discussed, with alternative networks available for different price/fee tradeoffs.
Kevin explained battery and warranty details for the proposed devices, saying factory claims put average battery life at about 18 years and that the vendor offers a long warranty on meter accuracy. “The factory claims average battery life to be about 18 years,” Kevin said, adding that desert heat could reduce that to roughly 12 years but that batteries are replaceable at relatively low cost.
Council members asked technical and operational questions about how quickly the system would report events and whether remote shutoff valves would prevent customers from re‑energizing service manually. Christiansen said hourly uploads mean staff will see changes the following day and that automatic shutoff valves can be configured so they can be actuated remotely only; manual reactivation would require authorization or a technician visit unless staff used a programming tool onsite.
Council members and staff expressed interest in a low‑risk pilot rather than an immediate town‑wide rollout. Christiansen offered a six‑month pilot on transmitter radios (meters themselves excluded from the pilot to avoid sanitary issues with moving meters between systems), after which the town could choose to keep or remove the pilot radios. No formal vote was taken; the council indicated they would put the matter on a future agenda for formal consideration.
Next steps noted during the meeting included placing the pilot proposal on a forthcoming council agenda, getting a written cost estimate for specific meters in Sigurd’s inventory, and returning with sample warranty and network‑service terms.
Ending: The council did not take immediate action but instructed staff to schedule the meter pilot proposal for a future business meeting and to return with more detailed cost and compatibility information.
