Central Highlands Water (CHW) has announced a plan to install digital water meters to the region. Over the next three years, more than 75,000 existing water meters will be upgraded to digital meters.
CHW’s Managing Director, Jeff Haydon, said, “We are focused on continuing our digital transformation journey to support the best outcomes for our customers and community. Introducing digital metering to our water network will revolutionise the way we work, delivering a large number of benefits to our community and importantly improving our customers’ experience.”
The upgraded digital water meters will enable customers to monitor their water usage digitally. With the availability of near real-time data, customers will be better able to manage their water usage, identify leaks and potentially save money on their water bills. Digital water meters will also simplify the process for those moving house, removing the need for a manual special meter read.
The digital water meter project will be delivered at no additional cost to customers, with installation scheduled to begin in late 2023.
The new meters will also enable CHW to move to automated meter reading. This will offer a host of safety and environmental improvements to CHW’s meter reading team including avoiding the need to access customers’ properties, reducing long-distance road travel that saves on fuel, lowering emissions and enabling an automated leak detection process. The availability of data will also assist CHW in optimising the operations of the water network to improve reliability of performance for customers.
Extensive engagement with CHW customers highlighted strong support for the move toward digital metering and the subsequent access to online service usage information.
The digital meter rollout is a collaborative 10 year project with SUEZ, a leader in water and wastewater management with a specialisation in the delivery of digital metering solutions. SUEZ operates more than 6 million digital water meters and has been providing digital water meter services for nearly 20 years.
The CHW service region is experiencing significant population growth, resulting in an increased demand in water services for both residential and business customers. As well as planning for the region’s future water needs, CHW, through the digital water meter project and other initiatives, is preparing and adapting to a change in climate that may result in longer, drier periods and less reliable rainfall.
CHW is aiming to achieve water savings each year that can support the region’s long-term water supply.
For more information visit www.chw.net.au
