City praises new water-meter system after it detects multiple leaks

Good Thunder staff reported that a recently installed water-meter reading system has given the city improved leak detection and hourly log access, letting staff identify in-home leaks and prevent substantial unexpected bills for residents.

Reace (city staff) described how the system’s alarm codes and a noise-detection dashboard have already identified several likely leaks, including one house that appeared to be losing thousands of gallons while its occupants were away. The system provides day and hour logs (up to roughly 450 days or quarterly/hourly views in the training demo) that let staff verify usage spikes and respond quickly to shut off service or investigate. The city noted that the hardware could offer more frequent automated reads if the additional operating cost for the collector (tower-based reader) is funded.

Council discussed meter-read cadence, potential monthly billing, and customer notification. Staff said the system does not automatically alert customers — it flags conditions for staff review — and recommended more frequent reads (twice weekly in cold weather) to catch winter leaks sooner. An identified leak saved a resident an estimated large water bill that might otherwise have reached tens of thousands of gallons over multiple days; staff committed to pursuing notices to impacted customers and issuing two mail notices ahead of a possible billing cadence change.

Council did not adopt a formal billing-frequency policy in the meeting but agreed to publish notices and explore cost implications of more frequent automated collection. Council members framed the upgrade as a beneficial investment for long-term utility management.