Karen Mills Finance Director Town of Cary
A dvanced M eter I nfrastructure
4 Towns of Cary and Morrisville, RTP, RDU Peak Day Demand of mgd 67,000 meters –Water, Irrigation and Reclaimed Water Pit sets at the curb 70% residential Culture of Conservation – Program started 1996 – Tiered Water Rates – Realized GPCD reduction
5 Before Aquastar – Walking routes, visual read, handheld data entry
Meter Reading via Aquastar Infrastructure 2 Way Water Meters Regional Collectors Town Servers 6
Fixed Network Radio Coverage Provides Hourly Meter Reading 7
Cost Benefit Analysis X 3 8
- Invest $18 Million + Benefit $28 Million over 17 Years Bottom Line Net Benefit: $10 Million
Investment: Technology 10
Investment: 60,000 Meters and Installation 11
Investment: Regional Collectors Antenna: 11’ tall Base Units: – 5’ High – 3’ Wide – 2.5’ deep 12
Investment: Communications Plans – Goals, Objectives & Strategy – Tactics – Target Publics – Spokespersons – Key Messages & General Facts – Activities (Logos, Hotline, Door hangers, Events, Video, etc) – Budget – Timeline 13
Investment: Staff Time & Stress 14
Savings – Meter Reading 15
Savings – Meter Maintenance 16
Savings - Worker Safety 17 1 Worker’s Comp claim for a trip and fall: $40K
Green: Smaller Fleet, Less Fuel 18 70,000 miles/year off the road
BIG Data Before… After… 19
20 RNI – Raw Meter Data CIS System - NaviLine MDM – Processed Read Data SAS – Analytical Tables Customer Portal
21 Policy/Program Evaluation Health and Safety Concerns Customer ServiceTown Code Enforcement Data Use Policy
Policy/program Evaluation Aggregate compliance with Alternate Day Watering ordinance; impact of changes Extent of code violations, in aggregate (unpermitted irrigation, minimum housing) Project to right-size meters Rate structures (time of use, peaking) Feasibility of absentee homeowner management of water use 22
Low income special leak detection monitoring Development fee structure (peak day use act. vs est.) Feasibility of senior citizen or other unusual pattern monitoring Feasibility of fire suppression system monitoring for theft detection ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ _______________________________ Policy/program Evaluation 23
Public Health and Safety Protection Set and monitor Water Shortage Response Plan Stage III and Rationing water use levels ID systems without required backflow prevention (residential irrigation, commercial) Reclaimed water use during annual reclaimed holiday 24
Town Code Enforcement Alternate Day Watering Rain Sensor Ordinance Water Waste Ordinance Water Shortage Response – Verify field observation – Confirm complaints – Replace field observation 25
Wise water use increases water supply reliability which could delay or eliminate next water treatment plant expansion ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ _______________________________ Expansion from 40 to 56 mgd Water Conservation With conservation/reuse: just under 50% chance no expansion needed for buildout/ % chance expansion needed about
27 Understanding the System - Before
28 Understanding the System Now
29 Understanding the System Now
30 Understanding the System Now “Guaranteed” Sales by Customer Class
________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ _______________________________ 31 Average Annual Weather-Adjusted Residential Water Use Annual average of daily values: Total census block daily use Census block population Who/where are lows/highs? Understanding the System Now
Transformational!!! Customer Service Becomes Proactive* * Most not quantified for cost/benefit analysis 32
Aquastar Customer Service* High Usage monitored Continuous flow monitored Highest quality billing Customer Call center service Same day customer starts and stops * Most not quantified for cost/benefit analysis 33
34 Catching Leaks
35 Tracking Results
Self Serve, PLEASE! 36
Customer Web Portal 37
Self Subscribed and Text Alerts 38
Questions? Karen Mills, CPA Finance Director