N.C. County Pilots Advanced Metering for Water
Dare County, N.C., is performing a pilot study on 290 of its 18,000 water meters with evolution™ AMI, a comprehensive advanced metering solution. The pilot study will take place over 12 months beginning in June 2008.
According to Elster AMCO Water Inc., of Ocala, Fla., the county chose its product because it is an end-to-end water solution designed for water utilities.
Located on North Carolina's Outer Banks, Dare County was seeking a metering solution that would help the county improve efficiency through billing management and remote monitoring of leaks.
"We chose evolution AMI because of its intelligent two-way communication-based system and enhanced features that will allow us to remotely decrease water pressure in the event water conservation is required or shut off meters without having to deploy field personnel," explained Ken Flatt, Dare County's utilities director. "We will also be able to generate customer data on our customer's water usage," he added.
Dare County will install the system and use many of its features including time-based rates, in-home displays, remote valve actuation, and real-time notification of leaks, tampering, and backflow.
"A successful pilot study will greatly assist us in securing the funding to replace our remaining water meters for our remaining customers. We will be rolling out the evolution system to all of our water utility customers on Roanoke Island next month," added Flatt. "And we expect to see immediate results."