The city of Tomball will replace and upgrade nearly 5,000 residential and commercial water meters as part of an advanced metering infrastructure project expected to take around 12 months, according to the project’s website.
In a nutshell
Costing around $1.8 million and funded by the city’s American Rescue Plan Act money, the project is budgeted for fiscal year 2023-24, Assistant City Manager Jessica Rogers said in a July 6 email. There is no cost to customers who receive a new meter.
The new meters will be able to be read remotely through radio signals and will provide real-time data on water consumption, Rogers said.
“With these new meters, crews will no longer have to visit every meter in the city to collect reads, but instead will have access to meter data from a computer,” Rogers said. “This creates tremendous efficiency in our utility operations and allows our crews to focus on other projects and programs for customers.”
What to expect
The company Aqua-Metric was chosen to replace the water meters; its logo will be visible on its vehicles and employee uniforms, according to the project website.
- Aqua-Metric employees will not have to enter any homes, and city employees will accompany Aqua-Metric employees for most of the project.
- Most of the work will take place Mondays-Fridays from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
- The replacement and installation of an upgraded meter will take around 30 minutes, during which the water will be turned off.
One more thing
The project will begin with the Raleigh Creek neighborhood, according to the project website.
