The city of Petersburg, Virginia is currently home to more than 30,000 people across an urban territory spanning over 20 square miles. Last year, the city sought to automate its billing process and meter reading. Using increased revenue by focusing on billing customers for the actual amount of water they used versus an estimate as well as identifying system distribution leaks, the city planned to use these funds to upgrade its water systems.
Petersburg quickly realized that its aging and deteriorating water meters plus the lack of capital would be much more labor intensive than it had anticipated and worse, not entirely accurate. The manual meter reading process made it significantly more difficult to identify unauthorized water use and there was no way to look into potential system leaks. The service territory had originally been set up into a series of zones that staff could visit once on a bi-monthly basis, which meant customers would therefore be receiving bi-monthly bills.
After a considerable amount of analysis, Petersburg chose Itron as its leak detection and automated meter reading solution. By installing Itron ChoiceConnect, Petersburg is well on its way towards recovering over 140 million gallons of water. It is also reducing its vehicle Co2 emissions by more than 8 tons annually. The city has since reduced its number of technicians gathering meter data from five to two, capable of obtaining the necessary reads for billing on a monthly basis. As a result, there is now one city billing cycle, revenue has become easier to monitor, customers are billed consistently, and they are able to see the actual amount of water they use every month.
The Avanti Company, provides Flow Meter Products, Liquid Controls and Metering Systems including water meters and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) to maximize and better utilize the data coming into your Utility. Call 1-800-284-5231 for additional information on water wastewater system products like Itron or visit our website at www.avanticompany.com to learn more about the services we provide including on-site flow meter testing, sewer flow monitoring, and metering system support.