City working to implement new water meters, billing system

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press 

 

The City of Copperas Cove is still in the process of transitioning its utility accounts over to FATHOM Water Management with the changeover of customers’ water meters to the advanced metering infrastructure. 

 

At this time, the meter exchange is 93 percent completed with approximately 1,026 meters remaining to be exchanged, said Ryan Haverlah, the city’s budget director and assistant to the city manager. The grand total is 13,937 meters that will be exchanged by FATHOM workers. The meter changeout began Oct. 11.

 

In December, the city announced customers would see a delay in billing while the city’s staff and FATHOM work to change the accounts over as well. 

 

“We anticipate getting back to a normal monthly billing schedule in February 2017,” Haverlah said. 

 

Following the change to digital water meters which upload customers’ water consumption to FATHOM, which will then release bills to customers, utility customers will have access to the FATHOM app which can be downloaded to smart phones and other technology* to get real-time water consumption numbers. Customers will need to wait a little longer before accessing that app.

 

“The new online functions will be available after FATHOM completes the billing and customer software development. The current date of Jan. 30, 2017 will need to be pushed back to a yet unknown date,” Haverlah said. “However, City staff and FATHOM are working closely to resolve customer service and software conversion issues and move the project forward.”

 

Meter exchanges are continuing during the month of January, Haverlah added. 

 

“If a customer’s meter has not been exchanged, it means there is more extensive work that must be completed to exchange the meter. The City is aware of those meters and will eventually exchange those meters, but may not necessarily be in January. Additionally, some customers have expressed concern that their meter was exchanged, but the round silver antenna disk is not on the meter box lid. We are also aware of the need to install the antenna; however, the meter read data is still transmitting without the antenna installed on the lid. The antenna simply helps ensure the transmission strength is strong.”

 

The new meters mean no more meter readers having to go neighborhood by neighborhood, business to business, in order to read meters. No city jobs have been lost with this changeover, but positions within other city departments have been secured for the nine employees who are no longer in the department. 

 

Last spring, the city council approved the city’s agreement with FATHOM to include water meters, software and handling services to include utility billing and customer care operations, at a cost of approximately $7,000,000 to be paid for through certificates of obligation bonds.