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Chehalis awards pilot AMI water‑meter contract to HD Fowler for roughly $108,000
Summary
The council awarded a pilot advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) contract for 300 ultrasonic meters and supporting data collection equipment to HD Fowler for $107,936.67 and authorized the city manager to execute project documents; staff said the program will scale to replace approximately 3,850 meters over 5–7 years.
The Chehalis City Council approved a contract March 9 to begin a pilot advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) program that will install 300 ultrasonic water meters and supporting data collectors and software.
Utility staff said the city’s existing meter‑reading equipment is aging and increasing the number of manual reads and non‑reads. The lowest responsive bidder was HD Fowler, with a total pilot bid of $107,936.67 (including tax), which staff recommended for award and to authorize the city manager to execute project documents.
Staff described the pilot as the first phase of a planned multi‑year replacement of roughly 3,850 meters citywide over five to seven years, with an estimated annual subscription fee for the system of about $4,500. The new system uses radio collectors (requiring an FCC license) and would place several collectors on reservoirs or towers; staff said they would seek to use existing towers to reduce collector needs and costs. The council approved the award and authorization to proceed.
Next steps: staff will execute project documents, deploy collectors and pilot meters, and return with updates on pilot performance and scaling plans.
