CLINTON — City and county leaders gathered with members of local veterans’ groups at noon on Monday to raise the state’s official Illinois Bicentennial flag on Mr. Lincoln’s Square.

Clinton mayor Roger Cyrulik and county board chairman David Newberg said a few words about the Bicentennial, and Greg Taylor of First Christian Church, offered the invocation.

Proposed water meter upgrade

Water bills could become the most accurate in the city’s history and waste through leaks drastically reduced if the city adopts a proposed upgrade to its water meter system.  Representatives of Sensus presented the plan to the city council Monday at the urging of commissioner John Wise.

During his multiple tenures as commissioner of the water department, Wise said one of the most difficult situations can be convincing a resident he has an undiscovered water leak.  The proposed upgrade to the city’s system would not only significantly reduce the time it takes to read meters, it could identify leaks at individual locations down to the times of day the leaks occur.

The technology involved in gathering the readings isn’t new, according to Sensus representatives; it’s been around for about 10 years.  For Clinton, however, it would vastly reduce the time it takes to gather those readings.

The company would install an antenna on top of Clinton’s west side water tower.  The new meters would transmit the data to the antenna, which would enter the system for processing.  This would eliminate the need to manually read each local meter.

SeeThe system also would reduce or eliminate error occurring at the individual meters.  Some meters removed locally displayed as much as a 100,000-gallon deficit between what the meter measured and what it sent to the display mounted on the exterior of homes and buildings.

The new meters would take a reading each hour and transmit that data to the collection point.

About 50 of the newer meters already are installed locally and are read by water department staff using hand-held units.  Those meters would be compatible with the new system.

“We would mount an antenna on your water tower and then tell those meters to transmit to the tower,” said Tyler Tucker, Sensus territory manager for Illinois and Missouri.

Tucker said what sets Sensus apart from its competition is his company’s ownership of an FCC primary license frequency.  This allows Sensus to broadcast a non-interference frequency at its maximum-allowed power, about two watts, roughly twice the power of a cell phone.

The power reaches a range that includes all of Clinton and also reaches far enough to include all of Kenney.  Tucker said Sensus is about 20 time more powerful than its closest competitor.

That power also make it possible for the system to employ two-way communications.

“That’s really important for getting on-demand reads,” Tucker said.

On final bill days, a signal would be sent to local meters, and within 60-90 seconds, readings would be obtained for 80-85 percent of the population.  Software changes and meter adjustments also can be handled through the system.

The system comes with a 20-year warranty, 10 years under full warranty, 10 years under a prorated warranty.

Some commissioners were concerned about water department personnel losing jobs because of the new system.  Sensus representative said that had not happened with any of their projects.  They said, generally, those employees’ responsibilities change to take on monitoring and other duties connected with the new system.  And, since public departments in most cities today operated on fewer employees, staff reductions were not likely.

“This is going to cut down on hours reading and increase your cash flow,” Tucker said.  “You’re going to be able to bill much faster and receive payment faster.”

He said the city would be able to take readings and begin printing bills in about 20 minutes.

Another important feature of the system is its ability to locate leaks.  The system can show a leak at a location and record the time the leak took place.  A print out of the activity can also be produced to show a customer.

“It will show incidents of broken pipes or rapid flow taking place at a certain hour,” Tucker said.

Washington, Ill. is served by a Sensus system.  Water department staff there confirm a leak is legitimate and then contact the homeowner.  In April, Washington’s water department staff discovered 52 local garden hoses left on that were identified through the Sensus system, according to Tucker.

In one case, the Washington system alerted staff of a leak at a new-construction residence, where a builder had left an outside hose dripping.

“…And the system picked it up.”

Tucker said one reason Washington had adopted an “extreme” practice of monitoring the system was because the city was nearing the output limits of its water plant and two towers.

“So reducing consumption is saving them millions of dollars by not having to add on to the water plant or building a new water tower,” Tucker said.  “You’ll find a fit that is right for you, which will be somewhere in the middle, most likely.”

Sensus representatives said upgrading Clinton’s meter reading system would move it from a position of reacting to conditions to being able to anticipate and control events.

With the proposed new system, a type of meter that includes a shut-off valve also can be used.  This would make it possible for the water department to shut water off or reduce flow at a property remotely.