Water system upgrade to move Nichols Hills ‘into a different age’
NICHOLS HILLS — A technology advance means city workers will no longer need to drive through Nichols Hills reading water meters, and officials say the innovative system will help the city respond more quickly to water delivery problems.
About 2,100 SmartPoint 520M radio transceivers, capable of electronically transmitting water use information to a fixed-base computer, will be installed this year on residential and commercial water meters to complete a project started in 2013.
Installation of an initial 670 units was completed that year, City Manager Shane Pate said. He said when installation is completed, the fully automated system will benefit residents and businesses in several ways.”This is going to help Nichols Hills operate more efficiently,” Pate said. “It will help us detect leaks and respond quicker” and will also help the city identify dead meters or those that aren’t registering water use correctly.
Public Works Director Randy Lawrence said the system is moving Nichols Hills “into a different age.”
“This brings us closer to new technology. It’s right at the desktop,” he said, and will free city workers’ time for water system maintenance. Information from each water meter can be read by utility employees at city hall, he said, and will eliminate the need for each meter to be read individually.
The city’s Municipal Authority recently approved a transfer of $325,000 that had been set aside to complete the project. Lawrence said he anticipates that all installations will be completed by July, in time to meet the city’s peak demand for water.
George Decher, assistant public works director, said the transceivers are plugged into each water meter and are capable of electronically transmitting water use information to the utilities department. Water use is recorded every hour, he said, and sent to the fixed-base unit every four hours. The information is encrypted for security. “This will help us spot problems before a customer’s billing cycle is up,” Decher said. “This will tell us everything. It’s a large value to the city and the public, cuts time and labor for maintenance, and helps us with water loss.”
Pate said that without the new technology, a customer could be experiencing water loss and not be aware of it. With usage information available quickly, city utility personnel can notify a customer of a possible leak, he said.
Completion of the project was identified during a planning retreat held last year, said Pate, who became city manager this year after the retirement of David Poole.
Nichols Hills operates 23 water wells located within the city limits and elsewhere that supply 100 percent of the city’s water needs, Decher said.