AKRON, Ohio — Akron has revealed details of a new program “to modernize the entire customer service experience for water utility customers” -- which also includes installing enhanced water meters for every customer.
“This upgrade will provide City of Akron water customers with an enhanced water meter that is able to remotely transmit water consumption information, so that customers can monitor and manage their water usage and utility bill with a new set of easy-to-use customer tools within an upgraded web portal,” according to Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan’s office.
The city of Akron selected Utility Metering Solution (UMS) to help lead this project, which will begin installing enhanced water meters in September. City officials say they will have every water meter upgraded within 20 months.
“When installations begin in their area, City of Akron water customers will start receiving notices from UMS by mail to schedule a free enhanced water meter replacement,” Mayor Horrigan’s office explains. “Instructions for scheduling an upgrade appointment will be included with that notice.”
At the scheduled appointment time, a UMS installer will replace the customer's meter. The installation process will take less than an hour and the water should only be turned off for about 15 minutes, causing minimal disruption.
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“This meter replacement is mandatory,” according to Mayor Horrigan’s office. “It is critical to the overall success of the project that every customer help us by scheduling a meter replacement appointment with UMS when prompted to do so.”
Known as Akron H2O, the project includes the following innovations within the city:
- An enhanced water meter for 100% of the customer base.
- Remote meter reading, leading to an overall greener footprint.
- An upgrade from 12 meter reads a year (monthly) to over 8,000 a year (hourly) for every customer, allowing customers to monitor their hourly usage data.
- Improved usage and billing information, leading to greater usage transparency.
- An upgraded Customer Information and Billing System designed to upgrade the overall customer experience.
- An upgraded work management system that will route customer service requests electronically, allowing for improved customer response times.
- An upgraded customer portal with a more intuitive user interface (UI) and self-service capabilities.
- A new data management system to aggregate and manage data that is controlled from one central location.
“Our team has been strategizing for several months to bring this exciting upgrade to our customers. As the batteries on the City’s current meters began nearing their end-of-life, we proactively planned Akron H2O – Tap into The Future as the solution to advance our infrastructure and minimize disruptions in service,” said City of Akron water supply manager, Jeff Bronowski.
Once customers receive the enhanced water meter and upgraded customer portal, City of Akron water customers can:
- Understand their hourly water usage
- Detect potential leaks
- Create a series of custom usage alerts
- Budget for more consistent bills
Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in an unrelated Akron story on Aug. 17, 2022.