ESTERHAZY — Esterhazy residents have begun receiving visits from Metercor representatives recently to upgrade water meters in homes and businesses around town. Currently, the company has all the equipment needed to read the meters installed, including a radio antenna on the water tower. The task at hand now is completing the switch from old cast-iron water meters to the new high-tech, light weight version Metercor carries.
Michael Martin, vice-president and Metercor, was in Esterhazy last week to host two public information sessions at the S.N. Boreen Hall, the final one just before the candidate’s forum at the same venue on Oct. 29.
“There were a lot of good questions, a lot of concerned citizens, and I was really surprised — we had a lot of homeowners here that had already had their meter installed,” Martin said. “So we got compliments.”
Of the most pressing concerns from the 3 p.m. meeting was how Metercor will be measuring in a different unit than what residents are accustomed to — cubic metres as opposed to gallons.
Much has been said about the benefits of smart water meters with most people impressed by cost savings. However, in conversation with the World-Spectator moments before the second session, Martin stressed the importance of smart meters in measuring more accurately the amount of water used.
“This is very important—so let’s say you had a widowed school teacher, retired, in House A, and in House B you have a young family—husband, wife and three kids,” Martin began. “Well, right now, they’re paying the same amount, but they’re not using the same amount of water, it’s vastly different. So the social equality part of it is you pay for what you use, and it’s a very accurate reporting, but now it’s fair in my mind.”
Metercor has been around for 28 years. With a head office in Calgary, utility meters for municipalities is the company’s focus—no matter what size. Other Saskatchewan centres Metercor has worked with include Midale, Tisdale, and Prince Albert. In Alberta, the company has some long-time relationships with places like Airdrie and Calgary, whom Metercor has been working on infrastructure with over the last 10 and 25 years respectively.
“Esterhazy is long overdue for enhancements,” Martin said. “The infrastructure is quite old, and it needed this change, and the change will be good for the public.”
Martin estimates all the meter changeovers will be complete by the end of this year, well before the new water treatment plant comes online.
During the public session, Martin compared the new smart meters to the analog versions, which were made of either brass or bronze.
“Compared to this one, there’s no moving parts in these meters, so there’s nothing to freeze up or to jam up,” he said, holding a smart meter. The old mechanical meters are prone to inaccurate reporting, even if they appear to be in good working condition. The smart meters, however, provide multiple reports daily and measuring down to a teaspoon of water.
“It’s quite lightweight, it’s got a little antenna that hooks onto it, and about four times a day, it reports in for about three or four seconds,” Martin explained of the smart meter. “It communicates, and that’s it. There’s nothing more.”
With installations ongoing in Esterhazy, Martin advises checking the meter after 24 hours in case of leaks.
“If it’s good 24 hours later, it will be good 20 years later,” he said. “So we ask them to go back down to the basement just check to look for leaks of water on the floor.”
