AVALON – Avalon Borough Council discussed a project Aug. 12 to replace all of the water meters in the borough. With $2.5 million allocated, in the borough budget, for the project, the municipality will begin with an analysis of two options.
Presently, the town’s water supplier, Middlesex Water, assigns personnel to physically read each meter, a task that can take as much as five to seven days.
The new meters would broadcast the data periodically to a passing truck with the appropriate computer equipment, or an antenna located on the water tower. The use of the water tower would allow the data to be continuously updated and available via a smartphone app to the property owners.
Business Administrator Scott Wahl pointed out one clear application of the continuous flow of data to an antenna. During the winter, when many second homeowners are not physically present in the borough, fluctuations in water use detected on a smartphone would alert a homeowner to a possible leak early and before any significant damage to property.
The sense of council’s discussion was that barring a significant difference in costs, members favored a model that continuously broadcasts data and makes it available to property owners.
Wahl noted that the existing water meters were at the end of their useful life, many dating back 25 years.
