Residents in Shannon Waters Estate in Bairnsdale are the next step in East Gippsland Water’s new digital meter roll-out following a successful trial of the technology in Bemm River.
The new meters will replace the original water meters used in the estate, cybal digital meters, which have reached their end of life. Approximately 250 meters are being replaced.
General Manager Customers, Community and Communications David Radford said being able to detect leaks early is one of the key benefits of the new technology.
“Our new meters send water usage data to us frequently — they are capable of sending us data in near-real time. While cybal meters were digital, their signal had a short range so our meter readers needed to be on the street to pick up the reading,” Mr Radford said.
“Water is a precious resource. We phone all customers when we detect their water usage is higher than normal to let them know to check for a leak. Being able to receive usage data in real-time will help us identify possible water leaks quickly.”
The majority of East Gippsland Water’s customers have analogue meters that are physically checked every three months to record the amount of water used.
“No matter what type of water meter a customer has, they can keep track of their usage at any time by reading the numbers on the counter,” Mr Radford said.
The meter replacement process at each property should only take 10-15 minutes, which will include a brief interruption to the water supply.
Digital water meters do not provide East Gippsland Water with more access to customer details than it has at present.
