Water Utilities
Water utilities face many challenges in their mission to provide safe water to their communities. Budget constraints, system maintenance, managing customer expectations, and meeting environmental, sustainability, and governance (ESG) goals are just a few that are top of mind for most water utility teams today. Fear not! Metron is here to help.
Water Utilities
Water utilities face many challenges in their mission to provide safe water to their communities. Budget constraints, system maintenance, managing customer expectations, and meeting environmental, sustainability, and governance (ESG) goals are just a few that are top of mind for most water utility teams today. Fear not! Metron is here to help.
White paper
Five Ways to Level-Up your Utility’s Game Using the Power of Real-Time Water Intelligence
One-Minute Data
One minute data leads to more actionable information. Metron’s technology gathers usage data every 60 seconds. This best-in-class data granularity enables you and your customers to more fully understand how water is being used and how it might be being wasted. Identifying and fixing leaks and fully understanding just how much water washing your car really uses will lead to reduced consumption. This data also enables utilities to identify irrigation restriction violations and act quickly to conserve water.
Streamlined Billing
Utilizing the Verizon Cellular Network, Metron’s hardware and software work seamlessly to compile water usage data and present it in an easily understood format for both you and your customer. We then maintain flexible integration from our software platform, WaterScope®, to all major billing systems that allows data to flow freely. Imagine no more costly manual meter reads that can introduce errors. You don’t have to imagine it with Metron.
Enhanced Customer Satisfaction
More informed customers mean happier customers. By proactively giving your customers access to Metron’s water dashboard, WaterScope, your customers can see how they are using water, and how they are losing water through leaks. Then when your customer calls you about a larger than expected bill, it’s easy to point to the data and resolve things quickly.
Reduced Maintenance
Metron’s 30+ years of experience in the water industry has enabled us to engineer the highest quality, most reliable and durable meters in the industry. With Metron you will get more consistent reads, repair or replace far fewer meters, and dramatically reduce system maintenance costs.
No More Manual Reads
Because Metron’s meters are connected to the cellular network, manual reads are a thing of the past. And for locations with no cell service, we offer registers that support drive-by reads.
ESG Data at your Fingertips
With the growing importance of water sustainability, many resource-strapped utilities are now required to report ESG metrics periodically. With WaterScope, you can easily compile the needed data on water usage to insert into your periodic reports without adding more work to your team.
We considered three or four other vendors, but Metron was the one that stood out above everyone else.
Rod Glosser, Rathbun Regional Water Association
With our old meters, we had to keep updating the meter reading equipment all the time—and we had to pay for software that wasn’t nearly as good as WaterScope. There were a lot of factors that just aren’t an issue with Metron.
Lenny Bertrand, Mount Clemens, Michigan
Suddenly, accessing data was easy. The very next day, we could pull up WaterScope and see exactly where the water was going.
Lee Anne Bayne, Pioneer Water & Sewer District
We’re huge fans of Metron. We’re always talking them up to other rural water utilities—we have an outstanding relationship with them.
Marty Braster, Rathbun Regional Water Association
It’s just way easier now. Before, my meter guys had to go out to the physical street address, get a read, and text it back to me. Now I can just go on the website and grab a reading.
Katie Kirsch, Mount Clemens, Michigan
In 2024—our first full year of using Metron—we saw our water losses fall by more than half.
Lee Anne Bayne, Pioneer Water & Sewer District
We’ve been able to put Metron meters in places where we thought we’d never get service. Right now, we are at 99.7% connection, which is pretty solid.
Richard Brooke, Rathbun Regional Water Association
Before, some of these people had 15 year old meters that just weren’t catching everything. Now, we’re measuring every drop that passes through the meters.
Lenny Bertrand, Mount Clemens, Michigan
Just by looking at WaterScope, I can usually tell if [a customer has] got a leaking toilet or some other problem. And they can log into the customer app and see the data for themselves, too—they really appreciate it.
Katie Kirsch, Mount Clemens, Michigan
As a small utility, we don’t always feel in control of our destiny. But with Metron, there are no mysteries—they’re always there for us, and the data is just there when we need it.
Lee Anne Bayne, Pioneer Water & Sewer District
More and more communities have been reaching out. I tell them: if it’s my choice, I’m always going with Metron. You can get the WaterScope information through the cellular network – and who wouldn’t want that?
Brandon McNeil, Scio Township
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Metron offer a range of water meters?
Yes, Metron’s range of meters covers everything from small residential to industrial applications. While most of the meters employ single-jet impeller technology, the line-up also includes positive displacement (piston) and ultrasonic meters.
Are Metron’s meters certified to public standards?
Yes. Our single-jet meters are AWWA C712 certified for accuracy, materials and design in cold water applications. Our ultrasonic meters are certified to AWWA C715. All of our meters are NSF-61G certified for drinking water safety. Our brass meters are certified to NSF/ANSI 372 for lead-free requirements. All of our meters have water recording accuracy well within AWWA’s required specifications.
Do Metron’s meters have standard lay lengths?
Yes, mostly. Metron offers spools for meters whose lay length is shorter than some standard applications.
Can water meters be installed in any orientation?
Single-jet meters must be installed upright. Ultrasonic and positive displacement meters can be installed in any orientation.
Is it possible to measure water consumed from city fire hydrants?
Yes. Metron’s Spectrum Hydrant meter is a lightweight, portable meter specifically designed for this purpose. Like our other meters, it reads automatically over the cellular network, which means cities don’t need to rely on contractors to report their water usage.
What is cellular AMI?
Cellular AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) is a metering technology where each meter uploads its recorded water consumption data automatically over the commercial cellular network. This eliminates the needs for manual reads, drive-by reads or bespoke radio-frequency network implementations.
Does the cellular register represent a health risk from radiation?
No. Metron’s Prism register transmits to the nearest cell tower for just a few seconds, once every 24 hours. The rest of the time, the transmitter is switched off. When transmitting, the radiation power is similar to that of a cellphone.
Which cellular networks are used by Metron’s meters?
Verizon Wireless and AT&T, at this time.
How long does the battery last in the register?
Battery life is warranted for 10 years, but is expected to last much longer.
How often do Metron’s registers record water usage?
Every minute of every day. This results in 1,440 highly detailed data points every 24 hours for every register. In some cases, registers may be configured to record at 5-minute intervals.
What happens to the water data that’s transmitted from the registers?
Water consumption data is loaded into WaterScope, which is Metron’s WDMS (water data management system). Utilities use this data for monitoring water flow across the entire system down to the consumer level, as well as for administrative functions such as billing.
Is WaterScope designed for utilities?
Yes, WaterScope was conceived as a tool for water utilities. It provides everything a utility needs to know for water management and meter management.
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