Maple Grove's Water Meters Scheduled for a Make Over

In an effort to update some of Maple Grove’s dated residential water meters, the Maple Grove City Council moved forward with replacement plans at their Sept. 6 meeting.

At the beginning of the summer, city council members agreed to embark upon the $3.5 million water meter replacement project which aims to replace manual read meters and improve customer convenience and efficiencies.

On June 6, the city council asked for a feasibility report to compare the current meters to the proposed meters.

This week,councilmembers reviewed the report compiled by engineering consulting firm TKDA, agreed to allow TKDA to prepare plans and specifications for the project, and asked the city clerk to begin the process for finding a project contractor.

In city council documents, TKDA noted that currently, Maple Grove collects water information by using a wide array of methods including a self-read meter card and multiple touchpad systems. The replacement project would require the use of fixed network technology which is commonly used by electric and gas utilities. 

By completing a study that evaluated the feasibility of transitioning from the current mobile read system to a fixed network system, TKDA was able to show council members that there is a benefit to switching to a new water meter system.

“The capital cost of a fixed network system is estimated to be about 13 percent more than a mobile read system,” the firm said in their report summary to the council. However, TKDA’s summary also noted that a mobile read system would be more efficient, have lower annual meter reading costs and use similar hardware and software requirements.

“The benefits of transitioning from a mobile ready system to a fixed network system are unclear,” TKDA said. “[But] intangible benefits offer some up-side to moving directly to a fixed network system.”

Council members agreed to allow the city clerk to prepare and insert advertisement bids into the construction bulletin to find a contractor for the project.

According to city council documents, the city clerk will take bids on the project until Jan. 18. After that date, the project bid will open publically at the . Bids will be tabulated and reviewed by the Maple Grove City Council on Feb. 6, 2012.