United Water replacing water meters in Bergen County to allow remote reading of data
FEBRUARY 19, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY JAMES M. O’NEILL
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
United Water has begun replacing customers’ aging water meters with models that can be read remotely and provide water-use data to quickly pinpoint leaks. The project will take several years.
The new meters have sensors that can communicate over a long-range radio network and send frequent updates on the flow of water into a customer’s residence or building. That data can help United Water identify a sudden and sustained spike in water use for a particular customer and let them know they might have a leak on their property, said Steven Goudsmith, a United Water spokesman.
With the old meters, customers might have no idea for weeks that they have a leak until their monthly water bill arrives, Goudsmith said.
United Water, a subsidiary of the French for-profit water giant Suez, provides drinking water to about 200,000 accounts in Bergen and Hudson counties, servicing about 800,000 people.
“The new meters will also provide more convenience for our customers since you won’t have to stay home and wait for someone to come and read the meter,” said Goudsmith. “It reduces the concerns of some seniors with security issues and people getting into their homes by posing as utility personnel.”
Goudsmith did not have an estimated cost for the new meters, because they will be installed over many years.
Why can this company charge whatever it wants in order to make a profit for their shareholders, yet ridgewood water gets sued by the crybabies in wyckoff?
so true, I think ridgewood should pump untied water to wyckoff.