In the last three months, more than 4,000 new water meters found their homes in Greeley, giving residents a clearer picture of their water use, and the tools to manage their use to fit their water budgets. Customer service remains a key focus as the city’s contractor works to uncover meters hidden by landscaping, address some customer concerns that have emerged, and clear up some confusion with the technology.
City officials sincerely appreciate customer feedback and the opportunity to assist. In many cases, customer concerns have led to detecting leaks. In other rare cases, they have alerted the city to a problem with a meter’s installation. City staff are taking rigorous quality control steps to ensure each new meter serves the needs of the resident and reports the data that empowers them to manage their account.
Over the coming weeks, the city’s contractor, Utility Metering Systems, will work to correct some issues that have emerged in the first phase and to identify several hundred “hidden” meters. The city may need homeowner help uncovering meter pits hidden by landscaping. If the meter pit needs raised to meet grade, the city will coordinate that work. City staff is reaching out to individual properties where these location challenges persist.
The city secured a $1.5-million grant with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for the first three years of the meter update project. Over the next five years, the city plans to replace all 29,500 residential meters across the city.
With the new meters, customers are asked to sign up for the WaterSmart application, through which they can monitor their water use daily, detect leaks, and review helpful tips on how to save water. The application provides detailed water use information.
Greeley officials are committed to serving customers and resolving any concerns about their new meters, billing issues, or how WaterSmart displays the data. Leak checks and troubleshooting is available free of charge. Call the city’s water utility billing department at 970-350-9811, and press 1 for meter installation questions.
Visit the project’s web page at https://greeleygov.com/advanced-water-metering to learn more about the project, and get answers to common questions that have come up about the project.