Cedar Park Residents Urged To Monitor Water Usage Come Spring

CEDAR PARK, TX — With warmer spring weather just around the corner, residents are being urged to be more aware of how much water they use with a secure online portal that tracks hourly water consumption via digital meters.

Outdoor irrigation accounts for more than half of all water usage during the hottest months of the year. By logging onto www.YoureRunningTheSH2Ow.com, customers can create an account and see their up-to-date hourly water usage. This customer-facing portal works in conjunction with residential customers’ digital water meters.

The portal is web-based and no app is required to log on, officials said. It may be accessed from any web browser from a smart phone, tablet or PC. It allows customers to see their hourly water use, detect water waste (including leaks and continuous flow) and set customized alerts. Billing cycle and daily usage alerts notify the customer when they have reached their threshold. Vacation alerts allow customers to temporarily override daily usage and to send alerts if usage goes over a set amount.

The digital water meters allow the city to improve utility analytics, reduce water loss and theft, decrease labor costs from driving to read water meters, establish a baseline for distribution leak detection and alerts customers of potential water leaks. City officials noted the digital water meters emerged after Cedar Park City Council asked water utility staff to explore opportunities to give customers improved access to their water usage and flexibility to monitor hourly or daily water consumption. Timing was opportune as the previous meter reading system was due for replacement.

As a result of the initiative, a total of 22,000 water meters are replaced with the digital water meters. Total deployment of the digital water meters and online portal (also called advanced metering infrastructure or AMI) cost under $5.5 million using the City’s Utility Fund savings, officials noted. The City is in the process of making the data available to commercial customers through the online portal in the near future.

For frequently asked questions about the portal and digital meters (AMI), visit www.cedarparktexas.gov/ami.

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