Water Meters in Lawrence

In 2012, the City of Lawrence initiated a city-wide water meter replacement program. The reasons for this replacement program are to 1) automate the meter reading process, 2) provide increased drinking water safety, and 3) increase the accuracy and reliability of the meter readings. As of February 2014, a total of 7,500 meters (65% of all meters in the City) have been replaced.

Throughout the process, some questions have come up regarding the replacement program and the Automated Meter Reading (AMR) system. The following is a description of the major components of the meter replacement program:

Automated Meter Reading (AMR) System

The AMR system is comprised of various components: water meters, Meter Transmitting Units (MTUs), Data Collection Units (DCUs), and secured network servers, computers, and software.

iPERL Water Meters: The new meters being installed are the iPERL model manufactured by Sensus, and are state-of-the-art meters with no moving parts. Two electronic probes located inside the meter are able to measure the velocity of all incoming water. All meter chambers are manufactured so precisely that flows as little as 0.03 gallons per minute can be registered with a precision of 95%. Normal flows are registered with a precision of 100% (+/- 1.5%). The iPERL meters are manufactured with a highly durable resin composite material, making them extremely lightweight and completely lead-free. A digital display shows the meter reading in units of cubic feet (1 cubic foot = 7.48 gallons), with a resolution of 0.001.

Meter Transmitting Units: The iPERL meters are hard-wired to a device commonly referred to as an MTU. The MTU is a digital storage device with an antenna, powered by a battery, and fully enclosed in a plastic casing. The purpose of this device is to obtain the reading that is displayed on the water meter and transmit that reading over the air (via a licensed radio frequency) to a DCU, eliminating the need for a Water Department employee to enter your home or place of business.

Readings are obtained once every hour and stored on the MTU; once per day, batches of readings are transmitted to the DCU, which relays the data to the secured network servers. The MTUs can also transmit data on demand, if a customer would like a real-time snapshot of their meter reading.

The information transmitted includes the MTU serial number, the water meter serial number, the meter readings, and the date and time the readings were obtained. No personal or otherwise identifying information is transferred.

Data Collection Units: The City of Lawrence has installed two DCUs at geographically advantageous locations in the city. DCUs are simply large radio antennas capable of covering the entire City. The purpose of these DCUs is to collect readings from all of the MTUs city-wide, and then transmitting that data to secured network servers to be analyzed and displayed by the software.

Secured Network Servers, Computers, and Software: The data collected by the DCUs is relayed to secured network servers, located within the City and accessible exclusively to Water Department staff. A software package developed by Sensus has been installed on the servers, and is required in order to access meter reading data. The software is password protected and accessible only on the City network, using an authorized City computer. The software lists all of the MTUs, meters, and corresponding readings. Water Department staff pairs this information with account information contained within the department’s utility billing software, in order to apply the corresponding meter reading to each water customer.

Radiofrequency (RF) Exposure from MTUs

There have been questions regarding the health impacts of radio frequency (RF) exposure from the MTUs (or otherwise “Smart Meters”), and the multitude of conflicting information available on the internet. The radio frequency exposure from the MTUs is similar to the exposure from AM/FM radios, Wi-Fi routers, cell phone, and other household electronic devices. Many studies have been conducted on the potential for detrimental health effects due to this low level exposure and all authorities agree that there is no health risk associated with RF exposure from MTUs. While the FCC has imposed limitations to the amount of RF emissions from electronic devices including MTUs, they’ve found that RF exposure from these devices is “thousands of times below safety limits”. The California Council on Science and Technology, the World Health Organization, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the American Cancer Society all agree with the findings.

Privacy Concerns

Concerns regarding the accessibility of meter reading data and the right to privacy have been brought up in the past. As stated earlier, data is transmitted over a licensed frequency and includes only non-identifying information. As a result, there is no concern for data interception. Access to the meter reading information and account information is accessible only on the City Network, using an authorized City computer. While City computers are password protected, the AMR software package contains another layer of security, requiring independent access credentials. The meter reading data is accessible exclusively to Water Department staff for the purposes of billing and providing increased customer service.

For questions regarding the meter replacement program and/or the AMR system, please contact the Lawrence Water Department at 978-620-3110.

Reference Materials

AMR System Overview:

Click to access SUS-1004_FlexNet_Brochure_seperated.pdf

Click to access amr_456.pdf

iPERL Water Meter Datasheet:

Click to access 5.8%20-%201%20iPERL%20System%20%28DS-WIPL-00-00-0110-04-A%29.pdf

MTU Datasheet:

Click to access amr_317.pdf

California Council on Science and Technology Report – Health Impacts of Radio Frequency Exposure from Smart Meters:

Click to access 2011smart-final.pdf

Environmental Defense Fund Factsheet: