Wellington plans cellular AMI meter rollout and membrane treatment upgrades to address long‑term water needs

Utilities staff described two major initiatives: a cellular AMI (advanced meter infrastructure) meter replacement and a multi‑year membrane master plan to modernize the village’s water treatment and increase resiliency.

The AMI project replaces aging drive‑by AMR meters with cellular‑enabled meters that report reads multiple times per day and support near‑real‑time leak detection and a future customer portal with usage alarms. Staff expects phased testing in summer with small piloting (25 then 50 then 500 meters) and full deployment at 100–150 meters per day, targeting completion next summer. The program is funded through the State Revolving Fund loan and communications and door‑tag notifications will precede any meter changeout.

On the treatment side, utilities reported recent completion of capacity increases in Membrane Plant 2 and ongoing projects (high‑pressure pump additions and post‑treatment upgrades) designed to handle PFAS and regulatory changes; a southern wellfield expansion (5–6 new surficial wells in a 10‑year plan) was described as critical to future capacity and to replace aging northern wells. Staff estimates phasing out lime treatment by 2028–2029 for current population capacity and will focus next on wellfield build‑out to support growth.

Nut graf: The combined meter modernization and treatment investments aim to reduce system losses, improve customer service and regulatory resilience; the projects are staged to limit customer disruption and designed around long‑term regulatory and growth scenarios.

Next steps: Utilities will begin AMI pilot changeouts and continue membrane and pump projects, report any customer portal rollouts and return to council with schedule updates and communications materials before neighborhood deployments.