1. Water Meters and The Internet of Things… Transformational!
Karen Mills, CPA
Director of Finance
Town of Cary

2. Advanced Meter Infrastructure
The official name for Cary’s advanced water meter infrastructure system is Aquastar.

3. Agenda About our utility A new direction
What we bought & what we’ve got
Policy issues
My favorite part, the fun stuff
How we did it

4. Town of Cary Utility System
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
Cary meter boxes are small and hard to fit all the new equipment into
Most business is “small” business

5. History Time for Change (x3)
A New Direction
History
Time for Change (x3)

6. Meter Reading Before Data needs and preferences
Manually reading over 57,000 meters per month in Cary and Morrisville, served only for billing
Change was right for our utility:
Data needs and preferences
Water conservation goals
Current/future meter reading challenges
Meter inventory goals
Lack of community opposition
Staff capability to manage installation
Monthly Reading:
Regardless of the weather meter readers are tasked with getting accurate 30 day reads from all of the meters in the Cary utility service area.
Why Monthly?
Monthly schedule is the foundation for the Town’s tiered rate structure, a cornerstone of the water conservation program
Customer receives bill, and Town receives payment for utility services provided close to when the service was used
Leak Detection;
Meter readers and field techs in Finance leave an average of 4 notices per business day to notify customer of a possible leak.
In addition, about every three business days we go so far as to turn off a water connection to protect property from a suspected leak we discovered
In 2009 customer service staff has worked with over 830 individual customers that have had leaks in their property; adjusting $130,000 of usage from bills
Monthly meter reading ensures that customers sign in for service which is especially important in rental property – average of 6 per month
Necessary to inform customers during drought situations - Raleigh and Durham both moving from bi-monthly to monthly as a result of previous droughts
System water loss – water audit of the system = gallons produced – gallons sold
Field Staff are responsible for obtaining a final or a starting read when customers move in/out –
Not staffed for same day service during busy season
Handheld Equipment:
Currently every meter reader is assigned a handheld device to record the visual meter reading
Our current set of equipment is beyond its useful life – updates have been delayed pending AMI decision
Constant repairs are expensive and interrupt efficient work schedule
Growth:
As Town grows need for additional meter reading staff also grows
11 Meter Readers, 2 field staff, meter readers average 300 meters per day
Physical size of Town is increasing (West and South) as well as the number of meters (irrigation only meters)
Drive time reduces productivity
In addition to staff - trucks, fuel, radios, uniforms
Based on budget office population forecasts we anticipate hiring 6 additional meter readers over the next 17 years
During the last 17 years added 9 meter reading staff

7. Meter Reading via Aquastar Infrastructure
Town Server
The innovative system replaces monthly manual meter reads with a wireless system that collects remote meter reads every hour of every day
Water Meters:
Meter readings will be transmitted to the office four times per day via radio signals from a small radio unit inside the meter box that is connected to the water meter
Regional Collectors:
The meter radio unit sends readings to regional collector units that then transmit the meter reading data to receivers in Town Hall
There will be 9 regional collectors, and up to 5 repeaters throughout Town. An 11 foot tall antenna will be located on existing water tanks and towers.
Base units will be located on the ground of the water tanks and measure (5’ h x 2.5’ d x 3’w)
Progression of Technology:
From wireless radio units used since the early 80’s that communicated to a drive by visit
Aquastar is a fixed radio network that communicates reads on a daily basis
Web Presentment:
The project includes the addition of a new Web-based reporting system that will allow customers to track their daily water use and link to strategies for saving water and reducing their utility bill.
Water Meters
14 Regional Collectors

8. Fixed Network Radio Coverage Provides Hourly Meter Reading8

9. Change Was Right for Cary

10. Cost Benefit Analysis X 3
Our challenge was not system leaks or old meteres

11. Financial Drivers Inaccurate old meters High water losses
Increasing labor costs
Water conservation to postpone capital investment

12. How We Chose Our Direction
Hired independent experienced experts
Prioritized Needs/Preferences
Data: Read Frequency, Resolution, Backflow, Reporting
Physical opportunities and challenges
Risk tolerance
Fancy features and big ideas
EXPERTS:
Completely independent of all vendors
Expertise with the technology and meters
Experienced in our project scope
Project Analysis
Installation
In tune with the industry rumor mill
Data:
Read frequency
Measurement resolution
Backflow detection
Reporting requirements
High usage
Leak warnings
Special customers
Physical environment (Holes and Poles)
Meter pit environment
Box size
Puncture existing lids or replacement
Antenna restrictions and opportunities
Trees, hills, tall buildings
Transmitter range
Radio strength
Antenna site management
Risk Tolerance
Successful installations
Warranty
Meters reading
References
Battery warning
Fancy features and big ideas
Two Way capability
Water main leak detection
Time of use billing
Ability to partner with neighboring gas and/or electric
Ability to physically disconnect service remotely

13. What We Bought and What We’ve Got
Investment Up Front
On Going Savings
How to Pay For It
BIG Data

14. Cary AMI Project Bottom Line Net Benefit: $10 Million
- Invest $18 Million
+ Benefit $28 Million (17 Years)
Funded through the Town’s utility fund
Stat of the art meters and registers
Bottom Line Net Benefit: $10 Million

15. Investment: Technology

16. Investment: 60,000 Meters and Installation

17. Investment: Regional Collectors
Antenna:
11’ tall
Base Units:
5’ High
3’ Wide
2.5’ deep 17

18. Investment: Communications Plans
Goals, Objectives & Strategy
Tactics
Target Publics
Spokespersons
Key Messages & General Facts
Activities (Logos, Hotline, Door hangers, Events, Video, etc)
Budget
Timeline

19. Investment: Interest Expense?
Unique consideration compared to other UT projects
AMI is choice on how to do business
Similar to a life cycle cost analysis

20. How to Pay for AMI Same as any utility project Performance contracting
Cash
Debt that matches the life of the system
Asset backed
Revenue bonds
Private bank placement
Performance contracting

21. Savings – Meter Reading

22. Savings - Meter Maintenance

23. Worker Safety
1 Worker’s Comp claim for a trip and fall: $40K

24. Green: Smaller Fleet, Less Fuel
70,000 miles/year off the road

25. 50% chance expansion needed about 2032
Water Conservation
Wise water use increases water supply reliability which could delay or eliminate next WTP expansion
With conservation/reuse: just under 50% chance no expansion needed for buildout/2060
50% chance expansion needed about 2032
Expansion from 40 to 56 mgd
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26. BIG Data
After…
Before…

27. It’s Complex… MDM – Processed Read Data RNI – Raw Meter Data
CIS System - NaviLine
FlexNet – Raw data received from meters and accessed by Finance Department
Naviline – Monthly summary data used by Finance for billing
Planet J – Summary data for viewing by customers using the Aquastar web portal
SAS – Hourly and daily summary data for analysis by Town staff
The data are accessed through four distinct systems – listed here in order of priority. Notice that getting the SAS system up and available – what we wanted to use to mine the data – is last on the list (and rightly so.)
Data use can’t affect the collection/ storage of radio transmissions from the meters.
No one application can affect the other applications.
Complex strategies needed to manage “chunks”:
incoming (2 weeks)
current (13 months)
archived (older) data
Customer Portal
SAS – Analytical Tables

28. Four Data Systems/Storage
FlexNet – Raw data received from meters and accessed by Finance Department
Naviline – Monthly summary data used by Finance for billing
Planet J – Summary data for viewing by customers using the Aquastar web portal
SAS – Hourly and daily summary data for analysis by Town staff
Accuracy
Billing
Customers
The data are accessed through four distinct systems – listed here in order of priority. Notice that getting the SAS system up and available – what we wanted to use to mine the data – is last on the list (and rightly so.)
Staff

29. Understanding the System - Before
Like any water utility, we’re constantly analyzing our water use and customer consumption to help us plan for future needs and identify programs or projects to increase reliability and reduce costs. The next few slides illustrate some of the analysis we’ve already done,

30. Understanding the System - Before
Peak day water use drives our required water treatment capacity. We’d like to learn more about exactly what/who causes the daily spikes in demand and, if possible, minimize them to extend the life of our capacity.

31. Understanding the System Now
Explain peaking ratio what it means and how its calculated
Are conservation programs effective?

32. Understanding the System Now
And, when we zoom in to the few weeks around our peak day – July 1, we do see residential use rising dramatically leading up to the max day, even as non-residential use declines during the same week. And, unfortunately we see quite a bit of irrigation meter use on Mondays, when no irrigation is allowed except hand watering or drip irrigation.

33. Understanding the System Now
“Guaranteed” Sales/ Customer Class
$ and bonds – under each class you

34. Understanding the Sewer System
Water meter data used to estimate the daily and even hourly sewer flows
Useful in areas where there is not detailed sewer flows
Totals within 5% of calculated sewer flows based on pump runtime
I added a second sheet that looks at May and July in more detail along with the weather data for those months. 
show you an example of how useful the AMI data can be.  In the past we would have only had the I-40 pump station run times to try to estimate an average daily sewer flow.  AMI data allows us to make an educated estimate of the daily and even hourly sewer flows in areas where we may not have detailed sewer flow data.
Just wanted to let you know that after updating the data using the pump runtimes after the repair was made the comparison with the AMI meter data was even better (within 5%).

35. Average Annual Weather-Adjusted Residential Water Use
SFR Annual Average gpd
Population Served
We’ve had a water conservation program in place since 1996, and have seen our annual weather-adjusted single family residential per capita use reduce from about 72 gpcd (average) in the late 1990s/early 2000s, to 66 gpcd following the drought of record, to the recent average level of about 55 gpcd following the drought and economic downturn. Right now, we calculate this based on annual use divided by July population.
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36. Irrigation Dominates Summer Use for Separate Meter Residents
About 5,000 separate meter accounts
I already touched on the importance of max day demand for capacity needs, and we do know that irrigation use drives the maximum summer use. In 2009 we had about 5000 residences with a separate irrigation meter. During , the separate meter customers used more water for irrigation than they did indoors during the peak summer months.
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37. Separate Residential Irrigation Accounts
~2,500 Residential Customers Use > 1 MGD Irrigating During Peak Summer Month
Separate Residential Irrigation Accounts
Monthly Consumption
Over the past 3 years, we’ve had about almost 6000 separate meter residences use water on their irrigation meter. During the peak month, about 1250 of those use between 10,000-15,000 gallons per month and another 1250 use over 15,000 per month. This results in a minimum of about 1 mgd used by 2500 customers during that peak month – and that’s an average over the whole month.
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38. Some Residential Customers Use Over 10,000 GPD for Irrigation
Not to belabor the impact of irrigation, but we see some customers each year using around 300,000 gallons per month irrigation – 10,000 gallons per day.

39. Policy Issues Abound
Appropriate Use

40. Policy Issues
Data Use Policy
Policy/Program Evaluation
Health and Safety Concerns
Customer Service
Town Code Enforcement
Make the point we do not use it for water conservation enforcement under normal circumstances.
(1) Policy/Program Evaluation. Staff has routinely analyzed monthly water consumption data for individual accounts and then aggregated the results to evaluate the overall effectiveness of current policies/programs or the benefits and effectiveness of potential new policies or programs. This category represents preliminary steps in the normal process of policy/program evaluation to support reports or recommendations to Council.
Examples include:
Quantify the extent of unpermitted IR systems or minimum housing issues
Define a project to right-size meters
Evaluate time of use rates and peaking rates analysis
Evaluate the feasibility of absentee homeowner management
Evaluate the feasibility of Town-owned deduct/sewer meters for cisterns or cooling towers
Quantify aggregate compliance with ADW ordinance
Evaluate feasibility of low income special leak detection monitoring
Evaluate development fee structure by comparing actual peak day usage to usage assumed during fee assessment
Evaluate feasibility of senior citizen monitoring, church, non-profit, and group homes based upon deviations from usual water patterns
Evaluate feasibility of analyzing fire suppression systems to detect theft
(2) Health and Safety Concerns. Some uses of Aquastar data will allow staff to better protect the health and safety of our potable and reclaimed water customers. Based on identification of accounts that may be associated with specific risks, staff would then communicate with individual customers.
Monitor reclaimed water customer use during annual Reclaimed Water Holidays to identify potential improper connections
Proactively analyze usage to set Water Shortage Response Plan Stage III and Rationing water use levels for each customer
Identify residential irrigation systems w/o backflows
Identify commercial irrigation systems that don't have backflows on their water meters
) Customer Service. To provide enhanced customer service by alerting customers to the possibility of leaks or mechanical malfunctions, hourly and daily Aquastar data enables staff to communicate sooner with customers about their specific water use. These actions have the potential to save customers money and prevent water damage to their home or property.
Customer service enhancements:
Identify constant usage on domestic meter as a potential indication of a leak
Identify high usage on domestic meter as a potential indication of a leak
Identify constant use on an irrigation meter (all classes of customers) as a potential indication of a leak or malfunction
Identify "high" usage on irrigation meters during non-irrigation periods (all classes) as an indication of a leak or malfunction
Identify abnormal usage on commercial meters as an indication that their indoor water budget may need adjustment
Make financial adjustments for leaks and pool filling, for example, based on precise water use measurements instead of estimates
(4) Town Code Enforcement. In the past, without extraordinary effort, time, and resources, staff has not had the ability to identify some specific ordinance or code violations using daily data. With Aquastar, staff can now analyze hourly or daily data to identify potential compliance issues and, if it is determined that the data are a reliable compliance indicator, communicate with individual customers about their water usage as it relates to Town codes. As an example, staff has the ability to use Aquastar data to identify customers who do not follow the Alternate Day Watering Ordinance which could lead to a reminder, a notice of violation, and, without corrective action by the customer, it ultimately could lead to fines. Or, the evaluation of compliance levels may help our field educators address localized issues more effectively. The outcomes of the evaluation may be the first step in generating new ordinances and/or policies to better meet the Town’s water resource management objectives.
Compliance evaluation:
Identify possible Alternate Day Watering Ordinance violations
Identify possible Rain Sensor Ordinance violations
Identify possible Water Waste Ordinance violations
Identify Water Shortage Response violations at every stage
Confirm or deny complaints against other neighbors/customers for violating watering ordinances
Verify water conservation field staff observations that reveal evidence of irrigation such as a wet fence, street, or driveway (as opposed to actually seeing water being sprayed for a sprinkler or automatic irrigation system).

41. Stakeholders Addressed Policy Implications of Data Use
12 months, 47 items, 4 categories:
Policy/program evaluation
Health and safety concerns
Customer service
Town code enforcement

42. Current and Potential 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
This is of course what we – water resources staff – had been focusing on. We want to be able to slice and dice the data to evaluate our current policies and programs, and find out what we should change/add/delete in order to best provide water to the community over the long term at a reasonable cost.

43. Current and Potential Policy/program Evaluation
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
Example: For new non-residential customers, water development fees are based on peak day use. We’ll now have the ability to compare actual peak day use with the amount used to calculate the fee, and evaluate the need for and impact of modifying calculation methodology.

44. 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
Example: To protect our water quality, we require all non-residential meters and all residential in-ground irrigation systems to have backflow prevention devices which are inspected annually. We know that potentially there are accounts we’ve missed- especially residential irrigation systems. We can analyze water use patterns to find these and then follow up.

45. Town Code Enforcement Types Options Alternate Day Watering
Rain Sensor Ordinance
Water Waste Ordinance
Water Shortage Response
Options
Verify field observation
Confirm complaints
Replace field observation
Example: Currently we have two water conservation technicians who do field patrols about mid-April to mid-October. Our policy is to leave a doorhanger reminder of the ordinances, then two (for residential) or one (for non-residential) doorhanger notice(s) of violation, then a fine by letter, all based on visual observation. We’ve already heard comments both ways – that we certainly should use Aquastar data to enforce ADW, or that we definitely shouldn’t use it to “spy” on people. We also have options for how we could use the data to guide, supplement, or replace entirely the visual observations.

46. Customer Service Enhancement
ID constant or high or abnormal usage
Leak or malfunction detection
Commercial water budget adjustment
Financial adjustments based on precise water use instead of estimates (e.g. pool filling, leaks)
Example: We’re already looking at high daily/cumulative usage, but as we analyze the data in more detail, we should be able to develop more sophisticated algorithms for identifying problems and pro-actively notifying customers.

47. Transforming the Business Model
The Fun Stuff
Transforming the Business Model

48. Transformational!!! Customer Service Becomes Proactive*
*Most not quantified for cost/benefit analysis
High usage monitored
Web portal for self service
Highest quality billing
Customer call center service
Field service workload reduced 90%
Same day customer service starts and stops
*Most not quantified for cost/benefit analysis
Customer Service:
Enhance our ability to quickly detect leaks by monitoring usage hourly down to 1/10th of a gallon
Provide customers with daily information on water use so that they can improve their efforts to conserve.
Accommodate same day customer sign in/out for service
Provide an easier comparison based on equal consumption periods
Water Resource Management:
Water savings from AMI system are part of the assumptions of the current Integrated Water Resource Management Plan
Infrastructure planning – know daily exactly where our water went (including which basin)
Assist water conservation staff planning education efforts surrounding the alternate day watering ordinances,
Provide information for system usage analysis, planning targeted WC programs
Environmental Benefits:
Aquastar supports the Town’s commitment to preserving and protecting our environment in a number of ways, including:
reducing carbon emissions and fuel consumption by taking meter readers off of the road;
In one year 10 meter readers drove:
Over 71,000 miles
Used almost 7,000 gallons of fuel
Improve Worker Safety:
Similar to other Town programs like roll out carts Aquastar will use technology to improve worker safety
Aquastar will help keep Town workers safe by reducing job-related injuries like shoulder, ankle, wrist and back injuries as well as spider bites and bee stings.
1 fall has cost $116,000
Meter readers have a premium for workers comp reinsurance 2 times that of office worker
During the past five years paid out $19,508 in insurance claims
Once the project is fully implemented, the Town will no longer employ 10 staff to manually read meters, and every effort is being made to place the affected employees in vacant positions within the organization; staff who do leave the Town of Cary are given outplacement services. 8 are temporary employees.
Cost Savings:
Through direct savings and efficient operations Aquastar is one more example of the Town of Cary’s commitment to maintaining a high quality of life for our citizens through cost-effective, innovative programs.

49. 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
No cost benefit attributed to lack of estimated bills – no reading degradation through the snow! No estimated bills or the death spiral they create – (calls and billing challenges next month)
Customer Service:
Enhance our ability to quickly detect leaks by monitoring usage hourly down to 1/10th of a gallon
Provide customers with daily information on water use so that they can improve their efforts to conserve.
Accommodate same day customer sign in/out for service
Provide an easier comparison based on equal consumption periods
Water Resource Management:
Water savings from AMI system are part of the assumptions of the current Integrated Water Resource Management Plan
Infrastructure planning – know daily exactly where our water went (including which basin)
Assist water conservation staff planning education efforts surrounding the alternate day watering ordinances,
Provide information for system usage analysis, planning targeted WC programs
Environmental Benefits:
Aquastar supports the Town’s commitment to preserving and protecting our environment in a number of ways, including:
reducing carbon emissions and fuel consumption by taking meter readers off of the road;
In one year 10 meter readers drove:
Over 71,000 miles
Used almost 7,000 gallons of fuel
Improve Worker Safety:
Similar to other Town programs like roll out carts Aquastar will use technology to improve worker safety
Aquastar will help keep Town workers safe by reducing job-related injuries like shoulder, ankle, wrist and back injuries as well as spider bites and bee stings.
1 fall has cost $116,000
Meter readers have a premium for workers comp reinsurance 2 times that of office worker
During the past five years paid out $19,508 in insurance claims
Once the project is fully implemented, the Town will no longer employ 10 staff to manually read meters, and every effort is being made to place the affected employees in vacant positions within the organization; staff who do leave the Town of Cary are given outplacement services. 8 are temporary employees.
Cost Savings:
Through direct savings and efficient operations Aquastar is one more example of the Town of Cary’s commitment to maintaining a high quality of life for our citizens through cost-effective, innovative programs.

50. Detecting Abnormal Use
20 or More Hours of Continuous Usage
Sensus Leak Report
Combine Meter and CIS Info
CIS Water Meter Info
Daily Usage Summary
Prior Day Usage
Previous Four Days of Usage
Change color
Hourly Usage Data for Continuous Count

51. When Should We Contact Customers?
Balance between being helpful and being a nuisance
“Best” way to contact customer
Minimize truck rolls
Spend time discussing the process for determining what to do, and when to do. Dynamic because customers react differntly

52. Documenting Contacts
Front End
Table – Access interface

53. Tracking Results
daily report based on residential meters using more than 1,000 gallons per day. One enhancement was to also track cumulative use over 2 weeks – this results in some smaller but persistent potential leaks (say, 500 gallons every day) to rise in priority over a single-day use (say, 1,000 gallons) that doesn’t happen again.
One staff person works down the list (highest gallons first)
Customers are very appreciative (with a few exceptions)

54. Self Serve, PLEASE! 54

55. Customer Webportal
Graphical presentations of monthly, weekly, daily and hourly usage
Tabular data for export
& text message alert subscription
Links to helpful resources 55

56. Self Subscribed Email and Text Alerts
Customer can set or Text Alerts
Sent Daily at 4 am
Gallons
Tiers 56

57. Timeline Project Management Commitment
How We Did It
Timeline
Project Management
Commitment

58. Timeline 2002 Consultant evaluation of AMI
2006 Consultant evaluation and AMI bid
2009 Council approval of project & approach
9 month contract development
2011 Meter installation kickoff
5 month network installation
2012 Meter installation final
15 month field work
2013 Web portal launch
12 month web development

59. Key Ingredients to Project Success
Through the lens of the customer
Custom Cary project
Extensive research and shared lessons from other utilities
Shaped by our values for customer service, safety & privacy
Comprehensive communication plan
Project identity
Defined target dates and timelines
Clear vision of success & definable outcomes
Including customer satisfaction

60. Key Ingredients to Project Success
Support and commitment
Council
Management
Staff
Sufficient financial resources
Sufficient staff resources
Treated employees fairly
Partnership and involvement with vendors
Risk management through thorough contracts
Dream Team of Enthusiastic Staff, open to change, welcoming to improvements
Skilled, dedicated project manager and a project champion
Communication and routine meetings to maintain focus
Problem solving skills and commitment
Consistent messages of appreciation and project value
Not a department not involved. Even parks and Fire involved in using light poles to strengthen the network and support for access to park and fire property.
For example, painted Kildaire tank. Jamie Revels ensured that they painted around our antenna.
Police – support for citizens concerned with trucks from other states
Legal – Chris - contract took months to write
Permits – electrical connections and inspections supported
Engineering –
Planning – consideration and support for infrastructure questions
HR - Staff management
TS – Backbone, webportal, data analysis
PW/UT – not enough time in the day to list their contributions

61. Investment: Staff Time & Stress

62. Investment: Commitment
Everything turns out fine in the end.
If it isn’t fine, it isn’t the end.

64. Questions? Karen Mills, CPA Finance Director 919-469-4110