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New water meters coming for Elmhurst, Lombard

Installation of new water meters is beginning in Elmhurst and Lombard as both towns look to replace outdated technology with devices that will provide more accurate readings.

Residential water meters in both communities are more than 25 years old, and the towns say they lose money on unaccounted water use the aging meters fail to record. Meter replacement is expected be complete by Oct. 1 in Elmhurst and summer or fall 2019 in Lombard.

Lombard's residential water meters record 93 percent of the water that flows through them, public works director Carl Goldsmith said. That's an annual loss of $440,000 in water the village buys through the DuPage Water Commission but can't charge to a specific customer.

Recouping the lost water cost and the ability to identify leaks are the main reasons Lombard is spending $3.78 million to replace 10,500 residential meters with new brass meters and battery-operated devices to transmit readings to public works.

Goldsmith said the meters, manufactured by Neptune Technology Group in Alabama, are not "electronic smart meters," but use a proven technology with a life span of 20 years.

"This system we've acquired will allow for a much better interface, not only for us, but for the residents to understand their usage," he said.

Installation technicians from Water Services Company, a subcontractor for the firm the village hired to replace the meters, have sent letters to some residents and are scheduling appointments.

Once installation is complete in 18 months to two years, the system will be "tight" and record all water that flows through it, Goldsmith said. Eventually, he said, the village plans to add an online system, where customers can log in to view their water use and learn about their habits so they can save money.

Elmhurst's new system will include an online customer portal available in February, said Paul Burris, utility operations manager. Residents who sign up with the portal will be able to monitor their water use and set up alarms that can activate when use exceeds a certain level, which could indicate a leak.

Burris said the city plans to offer training on how to use the portal during open houses to be scheduled soon.

Installation of 14,000 new meters is set to begin next week, with about 150 appointments scheduled. By the end of the month, technicians with the installation firm Siemens will replace 500 meters each week, Burris said.

The Elmhurst project costs $8.1 million, including new meters, a network to manage water meter readings and a leak detection system for water mains.

Meters installed for Elmhurst residents will be the Neptune Mach-10 model, which Burris said uses ultrasonic technology to measure water use and a low-level radio frequency to transmit a reading to the city every eight hours.

"There's no moving parts now," Burris said. "Before, we used to have a piece of plastic that would rotate inside the meter. Now there's less chance of things to freeze or bind up and cause bad readings."

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