It is the property owner’s responsibility to maintain access to the meter pit (or inside meter—by appointment) and shut-off valve. Accounts are subject to fees for failure to maintain safe passage, failure to allow meter access, meter tampering, and manual reading. It is unlawful to turn water on, or to turn water off, or to tamper with meters and metering equipment without explicit permission from the District. Opening your meter pit or otherwise moving (touching) your metering equipment can result in a meter tamper and a tamper fee will be assessed. Meter tampering is reported by the equipment to the District and must be cleared or repaired. Shut-off valves must always remain uncovered and accessible for emergencies and for District access.
Cellular Meters with EyeOnWater Technology
In 2022, the District began the switch to Orion Cellular LTE-M Endpoints with EyeOnWater technology when replacing non-functioning units as long as the property has a decent cellular signal. Customers are also given the opportunity to upgrade to this technology for $375. The Beacon Cellular Meter Policies & Procedures are now available, along with detailed information on the Orion Cellular LTE-M Endpoint. There are several benefits to moving to the new cellular endpoints:
- The meters installed in 2013 operate on 3G networks; cellular carriers sunset these 3G networks in December 2022. The bandwidth of legacy (3G/4G) networks is being repurposed for 5G.
- An endpoint upgrade is required to move to current cellular networks.
- All customers will have the ability to see their usage at any time and set alerts for leaks and high usage, which will save money by not needing to wait until the end of the month for Operations to read the meters. The endpoint captures 15-minute interval read data and meter status information. On a regular schedule (4 times per day on weekdays; 1 time per day on weekends), the endpoint then automatically broadcasts the information.
- Legacy networks were subject to consumer demands, but the 5G approach supports communication on dedicated networks.
- The new sensors detect pressure, temperature, and meter tampering.
EyeOnWater can be set up online and is also available as an app for iOS and Android. There is a $1 monthly fee for the EyeOnWater software, which is charged as a separate line item on your monthly water bill. EyeOnWater will only work with cellular endpoints. This technology will save customers and the District many thousands of gallons of water in leaks and many thousands of dollars due to those leaks.