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Utility staff report: collector outage fixed, AMI pilot and predictive tools discussed
Summary
Utility staff told the commission a damaged AMI collector antenna reduced meter readability; the vendor repaired hardware off warranty and readings improved. Staff also described attendance at CampStrupp training and a pilot for new web-based meter software and predictive maintenance tools.
Garden Ridge utility staff reported repairs to a remote AMI collector and described vendor training and a pilot for new meter software during the July 21 meeting.
Stephen (speaker 4) presented monthly activity data, including June pumping ("For the month of June, we pumped 12.98 acre feet out of the Edwards") and system metrics. He then handed the report to Michelle (speaker 5), who explained a drop in remote-readability over two billing cycles prompted field checks. The vendor’s help desk identified damage to the collector antenna on an elevated tower and scheduled a site visit to replace cable and add conduit. The police department assisted by providing drone photos used in diagnostics.
Michelle said the collector was out of warranty and the city covered repair costs. Since the repair the number of meters requiring manual drive-by reads decreased from more than 20 in May–June to near-normal levels, though a few meters still lag. "They were able to identify it for us," Michelle said, noting the vendor also is rolling out a new web-based metering platform and that she and a colleague were selected for a pilot program.
At CampStrupp training staff saw demonstrations of vendor integrations such as GIS mapping, AI-driven predictive maintenance and battery-powered actuators for remotely operated valves, which could be useful for future preventive maintenance and SCADA integration.
Staff said continued monitoring is planned and that calibration and sampling standards cited in the wastewater ordinance are covered by federal rules where applicable. No formal action was taken on the AMI items; staff will continue to report on meter performance and the pilot rollout.
