Kalamazoo Times

City of Kalamazoo issued the following announcement on Feb 26.

New “smart” water meters will be installed for more than 2,000 customers in the southwest part of the water service area starting in March. The new meters read usage more regularly and transmit water usage wirelessly. This can help identify service issues and does not require manual meter reading.

The City of Kalamazoo started phasing in the new Neptune Water Meters in 2019 after a successful pilot program. Meters are replaced with every lead service line replacement and installed whenever new services are connected to the system. In 2020, all meters in the Parchment water system were replaced with smart meters. 

This phase of meter replacements will focus on the area west of US-131 and south of I-94 in Texas Township. This area was chosen so that the project will not interfere with the ongoing replacement of lead service lines in the City of Kalamazoo and Kalamazoo Township. Customers were chosen based on location and billing cycle, so it is possible that everyone in your neighborhood might not be affected due to different billing cycles.  

The work will be completed by Ferguson Water Works and Utility Metering Solutions (UMS). They will reach out to water customers directly via mail to the water service address with information and instructions to schedule an appointment. Appointment times are in two-hour blocks, but the work is expected to take between 30 and 60 minutes to complete. Appointments will be available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Meter replacement will not impact water service, although it will be temporarily unavailable during your appointment. 

This project was approved by the Kalamazoo City Commission in May 2021 but had to be delayed due to labor and material shortages. The $1.13 million project is funded from the City of Kalamazoo’s Water Fund and there is no direct cost to customers. 

Kalamazoo’s public water supply system serves nearly 200,000 customers in 11 jurisdictions. Meter replacement is an ongoing process that will continue until all the system’s 40,000+ meters have been upgraded. 

Original source can be found here.