O’Fallon, Missouri
Background
Located approximately 30 miles west of St. Louis, the City of O’Fallon, MO, (pop. 84,009) serves a growing population. In 2010, the city partnered with Siemens Industry, Inc., to help improve the accuracy and reliability of its water meter reading system.
The project offered an innovative solution to a significant challenge for the city’s water department. Prior to this project, O’Fallon’s water loss rate (the percentage of water that is “lost” to the system and unbilled) was consistently near 20 percent, more than double the national average. By installing composite water meters (which use radio signals to provide real-time readings accessible to customers online) in more than 15,000 homes and businesses, the city is now able to electronically monitor water usage throughout the entire system.
What Made the Project Unique?
Although many systems had used automated meters as replacements or on a small scale, O’Fallon was one of the first to conduct a complete replacement of all water meters throughout the system and move to a fully electronic meter system.
The system eliminated the need for meter readers and for estimated bills, as the data is now directly transmitted electronically to the office, providing the city with accurate water usage data at any time. More importantly, since implementing the system, O’Fallon’s water loss rate has dropped below 10 percent, resulting in more accurate billing and reduced waste, while the ability to retrieve on-demand meter data has helped improve customer service and operational efficiency.
The Role of the Professional City Administrator
Keith Riesberg, then O’Fallon city administrator, played several roles throughout the project. In the beginning of the process, he served as the city’s watchdog, ensuring that the proposals which Siemens and O’Fallon staff put forward were accurate and a responsible use of customers’ dollars. Once convinced of the project’s worthiness, he helped guide staff through the process of presenting the proposal to the city council, ensuring that the council could see the justification for the project and understand that despite its high price tag, it was a worthwhile investment.
Project Outcomes
The most important metric for the city of O’Fallon was a significant decrease in water loss from 20 percent to below 10 percent. This has led to more accurate billing and increased city revenues. Higher water bills initially generated a number of calls from residents asking why their bills were higher than in previous months or years. Customers assumed they were paying a higher rate for the new meter service, when, in fact, they had previously been under billed for their water service, and their new bills were more representative of their true water usage. It took some time for city employees to educate residents, but for the most part, they understood the changes and accepted the more accurate billing. Also, the new meters’ duty cycle is longer than 20 years.
Additional Resources
Following are links to news stories, videos, and other resources about O’Fallon’s automated water meter project:
- Water meter project on tap in O’Fallon, Missouri
- Sensus FlexNet System and iPERL Water Meters Help City of O’Fallon Conserve Money and Water
- Sensus Delivers 1 Millionth iPERL Meter To The City Of O’Fallon On World Water Day
- O’Fallon Updates Its Water Meters—Why Not St. Louis?
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