PC -Water Meter Project – City of Bellevue, Idaho

Water Meter Project

Due to aging infrastructure and deliquencies on a sanitary survey, Bellevue is in need of updating the water transmission line from the Spring (that provides 80% of Bellevue’s water) to the reservoir tank to continue providing our residents clean safe drinking water. This will also help mitigate water loss from aging infrastructure.

Next Steps

Our anticipated start to billing at a metered rate is October 1, 2026.

There are some residents that have meters but they are not working correctly. These meters will be evaluated and the next steps to getting them up and running will be handled on a rolling basis. Until these meters are functioning, the residents will continue getting billed at a flat rate.

For existing develop there are an additional 200 meters that need to be installed with vaults, this is expected to cost $750,000-$1,000,000. We plan to to roll this out over a 4-year period and budget appropriately. This will need to go out to bid and we hope that the cost of will slightly decrease with the volume of doing many installations at a time. We will also explore additional funding options such as grants to off set some of these costs. These affected households will also be charged at a flat rate until their meters are installed.

Meter Read Process

Meter reads are gathered by using the Neptune system. Each meter has a radio in it that is picked up with the Neptune meter reader. Once the reads are gathered this information is uploaded to the Caselle (utility billing) system.

Current Meter Statistics

There are approximately 1050 accounts in Caselle this number fluctuates with new builds, 857 meters accounted for, and 744 meters that are fully functioning. Our water department will be conducting a meter audit to make sure the correct meter is associated with the appropriate property in Caselle. This can be quite the process as several lids are covered with piles of all sorts of things, the lids are then opened the meters pulled out and the data written down. Due to our cold weather meter vaults are 6 feet deep.

History of Meter Project

There is not an exact timeline of when and what all has happened to this point with the meter project. However, the most consistent information found is meters started getting installed around 2008, on a rolling basis to get the 857 meters that we currently have installed. During this same time the Neptune Services program and equipment were purchased. In 2019 it was anticipated to have all developed properties get a meter installed, to “go live” with meter reading, along with purchasing Caselle in 2018 for utility billing.

Why Meter Reading is Important

Why is the City of Bellevue switching to meter readimg?

Accurate Billing: Metered billing ensures you are charged only for the water you actually use, which is fair and consistent with standard utility practices.
Leak Detection: Water meters help identify unusual spikes in water usage, which can signal leaks either on your property or within the city’s water system.
Water Conservation: With insight into your water usage patterns, you’ll be better equipped to conserve water and make informed choices about water use.
Resource Management: The data collected from meters allows the City to better understand water demand, improve supply management, and plan infrastructure investments wisely.
Efficiency and Revenue: Accurate metering helps reduce water loss, improve system efficiency, and ensure that the City’s water services remain financially sustainable.