Bardstown City Council approves purchase of remotely readable water meters

Mike Abell, left and Larry Hamilton examine the equipment that will allow conversion of the city’s existing water meters to remotely readable meters. Abell is the city’s chief financial officer; Hamilton is director of public works and engineering. Click to enlarge.

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette

Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012 — The Bardstown City Council authorized the expenditure of up to $600,000 to purchase the equipment that will allow city meter readers to read meters remotely using a special radio receiver and computer software.

The majority of water meters in use now can be converted to be read remotely. An adapter containing a small transmitter fits on top of the existing meter. A special antenna is added, though the antenna stays below ground with the water meter.

Once converted, a city meter reader can drive into a neighborhood and read the meters via a computer laptop and special software, meaning it will no longer be necessary to manually read the meters. Meters that are converted still have an meter dial that shows gallons used.

Mike Abell, the city’s chief financial officer, explained that the remote metering will first be installed on meters of water customers on the western edge of Nelson County in the Boston area. As areas are completed, they work will move back toward Bardstown.

Meters that are too old to be retrofitted with the remote equipment will be replaced.

Abell said the funding for the project comes from funding leftover from a Kentucky Infrastructure Authority loan for the Bloomfield Road water line project that was completed earlier this year.

The council unanimously approved awarding contracts for the remote reading software, retrofit kits for existng meters, and for new remote-reading meters.

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