Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utility Meters topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Marlborough weighs radio-based meter upgrade to speed leak detection
Summary
At its July 30 meeting the Marlborough Board of Selectmen heard a TI Sales presentation recommending phased replacement of water meters, new MRX/MDX reading equipment and a software move to N360; town staff favor radio-read technology and will review TI Sales' quote.
At a July 30 meeting, the Marlborough Board of Selectmen heard from Sam Cavallaro of TI Sales about options to upgrade the town's water metering system and reading software. Cavallaro recommended moving from the older Nsite software to N360, pairing the software with MRX/MDX field reading devices and phasing meter replacement based on water volume rather than age.
Town staff told the board they favor keeping radio-read devices rather than switching to cellular reads because cellular would be a larger investment and is not necessary for a small town. Cavallaro said the town's current meters that begin with "150" already log data but those numbered "149" and lower do not, and that newer meters store months of usage data to help identify when leaks occur.
Cavallaro said meters should be replaced "based on the quantity of water pushed through" rather than strictly by age; he also noted meters ship with 20-year batteries that normally do not need replacement. The MRX reading device can be temporarily mounted on a vehicle to collect reads rapidly and the MDX lets field staff see missed reads on the spot, enabling immediate retries rather than waiting for post-processing.
TI Sales is bundling MRX hardware and the N360 software and will provide a written quote to Town Administrator Ellen Smith; the company said first-year software costs would be waived but subsequent years carry an annual fee. The town is also transitioning to Avitar for utility billing and intends to phase meter replacements so old meters can continue operating with the new reading equipment.
No formal vote was recorded on a meter purchase; Selectmen asked staff to review the forthcoming quote and return with a plan for a phased replacement program and cost estimates.
