Q: Why are we getting new meters?

A:  The County has made a decision to convert all meters to the AMI technology for improved data collection and reduce the costs associated with manually reading the meters each month.

Q: Who is installing the meters?

A:  Vanguard has been hired by our meter company to perform the meter change outs.

Q: How long can I expect it to take to put the meter in?

A:  The average meter change out should only take 5 minutes once the meter box has been cleaned out.

Q: How long am I without water?

A:  Only the duration of the actual meter change out.  (5 minutes)

Q: What are the things on the stop signs?

A:  The meters are read by radio frequency.  The items you see are part of the infrastructure “repeaters and collectors” that relay data to the system servers.

Q: How do I flush out my water lines and for how long?

A:  The customer line will be flushed at the outside spigot by the contractor once the new meter is installed. If it can’t be flushed at the outside spigot it will be noted on a door hanger letting the customer know. At this point they would need to run their sink faucet several minutes or until the air in the line dissipates.

Q: How do the meters work?

A:  The meters will read the flow of water just as they have in the past.  The difference is that the “meter reads” data will be transmitted electronically instead of manually.

Q: Was there any notification on the install?

A:  In advance of the installation in your neighborhood, a notice will be printed on your monthly utility bill.

Q: Are there any health concerns, regarding the use of Radio Frequency (RF) to read my water meter?

A:  The answer is no.  According to the World Health Organization, "From all evidence accumulated so far, no adverse short- or long-term health effects have been shown to occur from the RF signals produced by base stations [water meters].  Since wireless networks produce generally lower RF signals than base stations [water meters], no adverse health effects are expected from exposure to them."

For further information, please review the following document:  Mi Net RF Safety.pdf