Perth smart water meter pilot
When it comes to managing your water, every drop counts, so we're harnessing the power of data through smart meters to help customers understand and manage their water use and provide important insights to save our valuable resource.
The Perth smart water meter pilot is an innovative project that will shape Western Australia's water future and help improve our services while we work towards a more sustainable future.
Pilot goal:
The outcomes of the pilot will be used to make a decision about transitioning from standard meters to smart meters in the future.
Status:
In progress
Delivery Date:
2023 - 2025
How will the pilot work?
The properties that have been selected have features that will enable us to measure the benefits of smart metering for our customers and represent the broader Perth population. The data collected will help us optimise our water network and inform customers about their water use.
The first installation will be around West Perth, where we will install 250 smart meters in August. The focus during the initial phase will be on testing installation techniques and enabling troubleshooting of data flows before the larger rollout.
The installation of the remaining 16,000 meters will commence in the new year.
The information collected at the end of the pilot will help us understand what the future of smart meters will look like for both our customers and our business.
We have been using smart meters for over 10 years, particularly in larger commercial properties, to help with water efficiency practices and in regional areas where it can be difficult for our meter readers to access properties safely.
Why smart meters?
With technological advances, we can use smart meters to improve the safety, reliability, and efficiency of meter readings while providing our customers with a better online service.
Smart water meters also have a range of benefits like identifying potential leaks, which can help you save water and money,
Where are the smart meters being installed?
Following the initial installation around West Perth, we will install additional meters in different networks throughout Perth to capture multiple insights and measure the benefits for our customers.
As part of the pilot roll-out, we have included:
- Properties with mixed ground topography (in the hills and on the coast)
- A mix of business and residential customers
- Properties with meters located in boxes or behind fences.
Areas & suburbs included in the pilot
| District metered area (Water supply zone) | Suburbs included in the area |
|---|---|
| Claremont Booster | Claremont Cottesloe Peppermint Grove |
| Darlington Lower High Level | Darlington Greenmount Swan View |
| Dawesville South DMA | Dawesville Mandurah |
| Doubleview Upper High Level | Doubleview Woodlands |
| East Fremantle High Level | Bicton East Fremantle |
| Fremantle DMA | Beaconsfield East Fremantle Fremantle White Gum Valley |
| Greenfields South DMA | Greenfields |
| Halls Head North High Level | Halls Head |
| Halls Head South High Level | Halls Head |
| Joondalup High Level | Joondalup |
| Lakelands Booster DMA | Lakelands |
| Maddington North DMA | Kenwick Maddington Orange Grove |
| North Fremantle DMA | Cottesloe Fremantle North Fremantle |
| West Perth PRV | Perth Subiaco West Perth |
If you have more questions, we've got you covered. Please refer to the frequently asked questions below for more information on the pilot.
Some of these benefits include being able to monitor different zones in our network. This will make it easier for us to identify possible leaks, optimise our network and may help us avoid large pipe bursts in future. We have also included a range of properties varying in size and age. One of the benefits of a smart meter is being able to notify you of potential leaks. Other criteria we've considered is to assess how the technology works.
You can also read your smart meter to monitor your water use during this time and access your 2 monthly water use in your online account. Your additional smart meter data, presented in hourly intervals, notifications about potential leaks and more, will be available in your online account during 2024. Before this is available to you, we will be checking the accuracy of the data transferred to make sure it is correct.
If your standard meter was faulty before the installation of your meter, then your first bill may be larger than usual. We may have also been estimating your water use if we couldn't access your meter. We estimate your water use by taking your average daily water use from the same time last year and multiplying it by the number of days in the current billing period.
So if your standard meter was faulty or we were estimating your water use, your water use may be corrected when your smart meter is installed. If we underestimated your water use, we'll charge the difference in your next bill. If we overestimated your use, we'll provide a credit on your account.
If you suspect you have a leak, visit our step-by-step-guide to help you find out.
In the future, with smart meters, we'll detect possible leaks much sooner and proactively notify you to avoid receiving high bills.
While we strive to do what we can to notify you of suspected leaks. It is the responsibility of the property owner to find and repair any leaks on their property and pay for any excess water use caused by leaks. We recommend that you check for leaks between bills regularly. Here is an easy step-by-step-guide.
The smart water meters use secure, existing telecommunication infrastructure to send your usage data to our servers and systems. The data doesn’t contain any identifying information about you and uses global standards to ensure the data is secure from end to end. No personal information is stored on the smart water metering device itself. We know privacy is important to you; for more information, please read about how we manage your information following the Privacy Act 1988.
Smart meters communicate data via telecommunication networks, similar to how mobile phones send data. All smart water meters currently being used and/or trialled by Water Corporation are low-powered radio devices fully compliant with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM).
Smart meters are battery-powered. To make the batteries last their expected life, the radio is only turned on once daily to upload the daily water flow data. The electromagnetic energy emissions from a smart meter are considerably lower than the general exposure health limits set by the standard published by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA).
Need more information? Please email us
