The City of North Battleford has awarded a contract to a firm to replace old water meters with more efficient meters using new technology. (file photo/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

In the chambers

City awards contract for new water meters

Jun 9, 2020 | 5:37 PM

It should soon be easier for residents to gauge how much water they consume before they receive their bills, after North Battleford’s new water meters are installed.

Council approved administration’s recommendation at its online meeting Monday to enter into an agreement with the firm KTI Limited/Sensus for the AccuStream AMI water meter system at an estimated cost of $2.09 million.

Administration’s report indicated the firm’s offer provided the best value and lowest overall costs for the proposed meter system.

“This will dramatically increase the level of service that our residents will experience with their water utility,” Mayor Ryan Bater said. “With the new meters, individuals will be able to actually log into a portal where they can access information about their water usage, pretty much all their consumption data. They can also register for alerts.”

If a family has a faulty gasket on their toilet, and water is constantly leaking, their water bill could be quite high. So the new system will be able to alert them there is a leak so they can fix it sooner.

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The full cost to the city for the system is $1,905,881 for installation and a 10 per cent contingency cost of $190,588 to make up the total estimated cost of $2,096,470.

According to administration, while the city’s capital funds for 2019 were not spent, this cost will be added to the 2020 capital budget.

The federal gas tax fund will pay for the project, according to City Manager Randy Patrick, from this year, part of 2019 and a small amount from 2021.

The project will replace about 6,500 water meters currently in operation with auto read units and move to the modern electronic metering system that keeps better record of water used. The new system will also help provide more information to manage water breaks and improve customer service.

It will probably take at least a couple of years to replace the meters throughout the city.

Director of City Operations Stewart Schafer said crews will have to wait until the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted before starting work on the project since they will need to enter people’s homes to replace the existing meters with the new ones. However, if a family has a problem with their meter system currently, workers can take precautions and maintain a two-metre distance when they enter the site to complete the work.

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW