The Village of Tinley Park is replacing about 15,000 Severn-Trent/Elster water meters in town with Sensus iPERL water meters.
The new iPERL meters will allow the Village to install Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) that will provide better customer service, reduced operational costs and greater access to data. These new meters will automatically transmit readings wirelessly, meaning the Village can be more efficient and reduce water system costs by preventing manual device recording errors and eliminating time-consuming manual meter reading altogether.
Tinley Park water customers will be contacted in order to set up an appointment to receive a new water meter. The Village has awarded a contract to United Meters, Inc. of Morris, Ill. to perform this meter update. United Meters will need access to each Tinley Park home to replace the meter and will work with each household to arrange a convenient appointment to complete this task.
Installation of the new meters will be conducted at no cost to customers. While there are other matters that may impact the Village’s utility rates, such as future Chicago water rate increases, the new meters alone will not result in a rate increase.
The new iPERL meters will allow the Village to install Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) that will provide better customer service, reduced operational costs and greater access to data. These new meters will automatically transmit readings wirelessly, meaning the Village can be more efficient and reduce water system costs by preventing manual device recording errors and eliminating time-consuming manual meter reading altogether.
Tinley Park water customers will be contacted in order to set up an appointment to receive a new water meter. The Village has awarded a contract to United Meters, Inc. of Morris, Ill. to perform this meter update. United Meters will need access to each Tinley Park home to replace the meter and will work with each household to arrange a convenient appointment to complete this task.
Installation of the new meters will be conducted at no cost to customers. While there are other matters that may impact the Village’s utility rates, such as future Chicago water rate increases, the new meters alone will not result in a rate increase.
About the Sensus iPerl Meter and AMI System
The Village selected the iPERL due to its good performance record and overall service, as well as the experience of the manufacturer, cost savings it provides to the Village, and its 20-year warranty, which is much greater than the meters they will replace.
About 5,000 Sensus iPERL water meters are already installed in Tinley Park homes and have been for more than two years. The Village has seen no major issues in the operation of the Sensus iPERL meters since their introduction. In fact, more than 3 million iPERL meters have been in service since 2010 in other municipalities in the Chicago area and across the country.
About 5,000 Sensus iPERL water meters are already installed in Tinley Park homes and have been for more than two years. The Village has seen no major issues in the operation of the Sensus iPERL meters since their introduction. In fact, more than 3 million iPERL meters have been in service since 2010 in other municipalities in the Chicago area and across the country.
The iPERL water meters record the data, and the radio then transmits those readings wirelessly to Village Hall, ensuring the Village can be more efficient and reduce water system costs by preventing manual recording errors. Under the proposed new system, meter readings are expected to be collected on a daily basis, as opposed to the current data collection rate of quarterly. By collecting meter reading information more frequently, both the Village and its customers potentially can be alerted to abrupt or abnormal changes in water use earlier than when the quarterly bill is issued.While customers currently have the ability to review their water consumption online, this function is expected to be enhanced by the additional readings obtained through Advanced Metering Infrastructure. Once the meter replacement is completed, the Village will be able to virtually eliminate manual reading altogether due to the iPERL’s remote reading capability technology. This new customer portal should be operational by the end of 2018.
Other local communities that have installed iPERL meters include Orland Park, Oak Forest, Homewood, Palos Park, Palos Hills, Palos Heights, Frankfort, Spring Grove, Joliet, Aurora, Palatine, Buffalo Grove, New Lenox and Glenview.
Click the below links to learn more about the technology, experience and safeguards of the Sensus iPERL meter and AMI system:
- Sensus iPERL Meter and AMI System Fact Sheet
- Automatic Metering Infrastructure and Wireless Radio Frequency
When a UMI employee comes to change out a water meter, they will knock on the door show the homeowner their ID they received from the Village. The ID looks just like the one Village employees use, except it will say "contractor." All UMI employees have these. UMI employees also drive vehicles that have the letters "UMI" on them. View a list of UMI employees and their badges for more information on each.
Background
The Tinley Park Village Board on June 7, 2016 approved the water meter replacement program, hired United Meters, Inc. to manage the project and arranged for financing. Watch a video of the June 7, 2016 Tinley Park Village Board meeting or read the minutes from that meeting.
The Tinley Park Village Board on June 7, 2016 approved the water meter replacement program, hired United Meters, Inc. to manage the project and arranged for financing. Watch a video of the June 7, 2016 Tinley Park Village Board meeting or read the minutes from that meeting.
The total cost to replace all 15,000 meters is estimated to be around $6.5 million, which includes the cost for the meters, radios, labor and related hardware, and technology that will permit remote readings.
The project will take about 18 to 24 months to complete, and installation is expected to begin in mid-October, 2016.
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