From Manual to

Automated Meter Reading (AMR)

2011 Implementation of a High-Tech Automatic Water Meter Reading Application in Unprecedented Record Time at Diversified Water Utilities Across Texas

Water Sustainability Session I Presentation at the 15TH Annual Energy Utility and Environmental Conference, Phoenix, AZ, Jan 30 TO Feb 1 2012

Daniel Christodoss, Ph.D., P.E.Asset Manager and Texas Utilities East Design & Construction

Manager

Presentation Outline

Diversified Water Utilities & Why AMR?

Hazards to Meter Reader Manual Meter Drawbacks Automatic RF Meters AMR Benefits & Desired Features Vendor Evaluation and Objective Project Tracking & Completion

Texas Utilities-Southwest Water Company

106 Water and 15 Wastewater plants (conventional and membrane)

27 MGD Groundwater: 249 wells & 7 MGD Surfacewater ~ 40,000 customers

Plants near: San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler, Livingston, Sherman and Tenkiller, OK

33 Counties: Prairies and Lakes, Piney Woods, Gulf Coast, South Texas Plains and Hill Country

Diversified Utilities Map

• 38,319 Manual Meters• 3.5 Billion Gallons of Water Metered Annually

• $18M revenue from water consumption

• Annual Meter Reader Salary $800,000 (22 meter readers)

•Data Entry Operators Annual Salary $250,000 (5 operators)

•Transportation $117,000 (9 vehicles)

•CHALLENGES:

•Topography

•Distance

•Alleys/backyards

•Hazards

Sherman

Meter Reading Hazards @ TXUG (OTSH)

Meter Reader

Biohazard along meter route

Meter Reading Hazards @ TXUG (OTSH)

Dogs, Electric Fences, Guns….

Attempted Robbery and Shooting of a meter reader in Lakeland, FL: Aug, 2009

Homeowner opened fire on meter reader, Dallas, TX: 2009

“The Rottweiler doesn't bite”!

Manual Metering Drawbacks

Laborious (back injuries, trips, falls) Transcription Errors Biological and Physical Hazards High O&M (labor, gas, disputes) No consumption history Cannot detect customer leaks Water Theft Undeterred High meter reader turnover

Texas Utilities-Southwest Water Company

106 Water and 15 Wastewater plants (conventional and membrane)

27 MGD Groundwater: 249 wells & 7 MGD Surfacewater ~ 40,000 customers

Plants near: San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler, Livingston, Sherman and Tenkiller, OK

33 Counties: Prairies and Lakes, Piney Woods, Gulf Coast, South Texas Plains and Hill Country

Diversified Utilities Map

• 38,319 Manual Meters• 3.5 Billion Gallons of Water Metered Annually

• $18M revenue from water consumption

• Annual Meter Reader Salary $800,000 (22 meter readers)

•Data Entry Operators Annual Salary $250,000 (5 operators)

•Transportation $117,000 (9 vehicles)

•CHALLENGES:

•Topography

•Distance

•Alleys/backyards

•Hazards

Sherman

Texas Utilities-Southwest Water Company

106 Water and 15 Wastewater plants (conventional and membrane)

27 MGD Groundwater: 249 wells & 7 MGD Surfacewater ~ 40,000 customers

Plants near: San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler, Livingston, Sherman and Tenkiller, OK

33 Counties: Prairies and Lakes, Piney Woods, Gulf Coast, South Texas Plains and Hill Country

Diversified Utilities Map

• 38,319 Manual Meters• 3.5 Billion Gallons of Water Metered Annually

• $18M revenue from water consumption

• Annual Meter Reader Salary $800,000 (22 meter readers)

•Data Entry Operators Annual Salary $250,000 (5 operators)

•Transportation $117,000 (9 vehicles)

•CHALLENGES:

•Topography

•Distance

•Alleys/backyards

•Hazards

Sherman

Manual Metering Drawbacks

Laborious (back injuries, trips, falls) Transcription Errors Biological and Physical Hazards High O&M (labor, gas, disputes) No consumption history Cannot detect customer leaks Water Theft Undeterred High meter reader turnover

Meter Reading Hazards @ TXUG (OTSH)

Meter Reader

Biohazard along meter route

Meter Reading Hazards @ TXUG (OTSH)

Dogs, Electric Fences, Guns….

Attempted Robbery and Shooting of a meter reader in Lakeland, FL: Aug, 2009

Homeowner opened fire on meter reader, Dallas, TX: 2009

“The Rottweiler doesn't bite”!

Benefits of AMR

Quick (data acquired remotely during drive by-5 days vs 4 hrs)

Meter data communicated by Radio Frequency—no manual meter reading

No need to access the meter box during routine drive by, except in unique situations

Lower O&M (labor and disputes) 1 hr Consumption history can be extracted to

respond to disputes Can detect customer leaks and help identify water

theft Lower meter reader turnover Streamline high bill investigations

Automatic RF Meters

ANTENNA

BATTERIES

RADIO

IMPELLER

Quick Remote Safe Accurate Automated 1 hr Consumption History + Vandal & Leak Alerts

RF used for everything else, why not for AMR

Technologies that depend on radio waves: AM and FM radio broadcasts Cordless phones Garage door openers Radio-controlled toys Television broadcasts Cell phones GPS receivers Satellite communications Police radios Wireless clocks Radar and microwave ovens Communication and navigation satellites Modern aviation Wireless Internet access Radio waves are electromagnetic, part of the light spectrum and

travel at a speed of 186,282 miles per second—the speed of light

Guglielmo Marconi built the 1st Radio Transmitter in 1895

Automatic Meters (win-win situation)

Remote Access

Promotes Water Conservation & Remote Secure Data Acquisition

5.5 month consumption history stored in the

meter for dispute resolution

Benefits of AMR

Quick (data acquired remotely during drive by-5 days vs 4 hrs)

Meter data communicated by Radio Frequency—no manual meter reading

No need to access the meter box during routine drive by, except in unique situations

Lower O&M (labor and disputes) 1 hr Consumption history can be extracted to

respond to disputes Can detect customer leaks and help identify water

theft Lower meter reader turnover Streamline high bill investigations

Desired AMR Features

Read remotely under submerged conditions

Integrate continuous leak detection and retrievable consumption history

Use vandal deterrent technologies in unlicensed frequency

Be one-piece, integrated unit with no exposed wiring to look similar to a manual meter

Fixed network AMI preferred, but Mobile AMR considered in analysis

Technologies Evaluated

Four AMR Technologies 1. Walk-by with Handheld 2. Drive-by with Laptop 3. AMR: One way Fixed network

1. Periodic Data Transmission one way from Meter to SWWC

4. AMI: Two way Fixed network1. Data-Reports Transmission to SWWC

2. SWWC commands to meter

Reading Submerged Conditions

Reading Submerged Conditions

Reading Submerged Conditions

Technologies Evaluated

Four AMR Technologies 1. Walk-by with Handheld 2. Drive-by with Laptop 3. AMR: One way Fixed network

1. Periodic Data Transmission one way from Meter to SWWC

4. AMI: Two way Fixed network1. Data-Reports Transmission to SWWC

2. SWWC commands to meter

Vendor Evaluation for Automatic RF Meters

Evaluation Criteria to Rank 8 AMR Vendors:

Compatibility with existing water meters Low flow accuracy Strength of transmission signal Encapsulated one-piece vandal deterrent module Financial Stability of the Company FCC License Material & Workmanship Deficiency + AWWA

Accuracy Warranty Battery life expectancy Hourly 6 month Consumption history Data transmission in submerged conditions Last 15 year performance in Texas Meter register malfunction due to silt in water

AMR / AMI Project

Objective: Find one vendor who can supply and install TX wide in 6 months, an accurate automatic water meter, and a reliable RF frequency network system, which provides the best return on Investment, for the lowest life-cycle cost

Evaluation Process

Technology Research Preliminary Selection Vendor Technology Presentations Detailed Evaluation and Ranking Field visits to working systems/demos Meetings with clients Final Evaluation and Ranking RFP, Bid Review, Vendor Proposal

Presentation, and Award

Reading Submerged Conditions

Reading Submerged Conditions

Leak Detection: Leak Starts

Leak Detection: Leak in Progress

Leak Detection: Leak Fixed

AWWA Meter Testing: 6 meter types

10 GPM

2 GPM

¼ GPM

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Chuck Profilet, P.E., Vice President and Managing Director

Ed Taussig, Finance Director Ryan Quigley, Director of Operations Gary Rose, Director of Operations Doug Connor, District Manager David Garrett, IT Project Manager George Freitag, Rate Manager Shawn Sharkey, P.E. Project Engineer Janice Hayes, Community Relations Manager

Contact Information

Please email daniel.christodoss@swwc.com or

call (817) 894-1357

Thanks and have a great day!