City Environmental Manager Jeff Blanchard, right, shown at North Battleford city council's meeting this week. May 31 is the deadline for people to have their water meters converted. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Crews working overtime

Smart water meter installation nearly complete

May 26, 2022 | 1:00 PM

North Battleford residents who haven’t had their new smart water meters installed yet will need to make arrangements right away to have the work done, or risk having their water shut off.

City Environmental Manager Jeff Blanchard discussed the issue at this week’s city council meeting.

“As the project is coming to an end, the company KTI Limited is definitely pushing along with the city,” he said. “We’re becoming quite a bit more aggressive with our water shut-off program. Properties that had ample opportunities to book an appointment and have not done so, we’re actively shutting off their water. In some cases, leaving it off until they have a meter exchange.”

He said organizers are struggling with about 250 to 300 properties at the moment that still need to be completed.

“Some of those [issues] are on the contractors’ side. I think those are just for delinquent appointments,” Blanchard said.

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He noted some customers expressed their concerns on social media about an installer attempting to visit homes on a Saturday that did not have appointments.

“There is a reason they are doing that; it’s just to [meet] our budget,” he said.

Blanchard said the installers are actively doing the work required outside of their installation appointments in some cases due to various challenges, such as trying to verify a meter exchange has been completed, or to address meters that have fallen through the warranty period and aren’t communicating through the radio network.

“The only way to do this is to have someone enter the home to look at both the meter connection and where the radio is [located], whether in the basement or on the exterior of the home,” he said. “[It’s] to make sure all the wiring and the components are working correctly.”

Another challenge crews are facing is people cancelling or not booking appointments.

Blanchard is asking for people’s patience and cooperation while the project is being completed.

The contractors working on the project have replaced about 92 per cent of the meters to date, city manager Randy Patrick confirmed.

“We are getting close to the end of this project…,” he said. “Everyone has had months now between the whole city to book. We have to finish this project off.”

The city contracted KTI to complete the water meter conversion project by May 31.

To finish the project, the city said in its release KTI installers will visit residential, commercial, and industrial properties “with or without appointments, during the evenings and on weekends to make every attempt to complete the mandatory water meter changeover and avoid service interruptions for our residents, property and business owners. All KTI installers can provide the appropriate KTI identification upon request.”

Installers may approach properties to complete water meter upgrades, meter verification or warranty work.

The city stressed properties that need to have their meter converted must immediately book and keep their scheduled appointment.

“Failure to book and keep your scheduled water meter conversion will result in water shut-off until the upgrade work has been completed,” the city stated.

People can book their installation by calling KTI at 1-833-543-8807 or booking online at www.ktiappointment.com.

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angela.brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW