Press Release | Office of the Mayor | City of Westland Begins Water Meter Replacement Program

For Immediate Release | Official Press Release

PRESS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

36300 Warren Rd. | Westland, Michigan | 48185

Office 734.467.3200 | Fax 724.721.2310

WWW.CITYOFWESTLAND.COM

City of Westland Begins Water Meter Replacement Program

Mayor William R. Wild is pleased to announce that the Westland City Council has approved a ten million dollar capital improvement program to replace the City's aging water meters. Expected to take two years to complete total replacement, the City will start replacing obsolete meters in commercial establishments the first week of April. By April 2017, the City expects all of its 26,000 water customers to have the new meters in their homes and businesses.

ETNA Supply and its subcontractor Vanguard Utility Service (VUS) have been contracted for the purchase and installation of new Advanced Meter Readers (AMR). These AMRs come with a twenty-year warranty on accuracy, and measure and record water usage using digital technology communicated through a low radio frequency (RF) network similar to those used in pagers. The AMRs will transmit water usage data to a tower located at the Police Department and another at Annapolis and Middlebelt Roads. The towers will then transmit this data directly to City Hall where it will electronically populate the accounts of water customers for purposes of water billing. Water meters will no longer be read by City employees on a "drive-by" basis thus permitting these employees to be redeployed to provide services to maintain other City infrastructure such as roads and sewers.

Replacement of the water meters has become critical as the current meters are no longer in production and have served beyond their useful life. As many residents have experienced, replacement meters and parts are no longer available, which has increased the need to do manual reads.

"The need to replace our aging water meters became clear when we realized we are estimating 4,000-5,000 accounts each month;" commented Mayor William R. Wild. "That is unacceptable and unsustainable as it adds unneeded cost to the City and more importantly, creates inconvenience to our residents and businesses.

VUS will systematically install the new AMRs by dividing the City into six sections. Section 1 encompasses the City's commercial areas with Sections 2-6 covering the City's residential areas. For the convenience of the City's water customers, postcards will be sent that provides information for scheduling appointments to install the new meters. Appointments may be made online at www.vusinc.com or by calling 734.259.9168. Installing the new meters will take about thirty minutes.

For more information, contact Aubrey Berman, Administrative Secretary at (734)467-3200

The City of Westland is the 10th largest city in Michigan with a population of over 84,000. The city's residential development is an excellent blend of single family homes, apartments and condominiums. The broad selection of housing opportunities is complimented by over 1500 acres of well-maintained parks and nature trails as well as a highly rated municipal golf course. Also available is a skate park, ice arena, a state-of-the-art Library and novel city park themes that are fun and family-friendly.

Westland has the location, land, infrastructure, and leadership, under Mayor William R. Wild to attract new industry and help existing businesses redevelop properties and to maintain competitiveness in today's global economy. Six modern platted industrial parks on 320 acres are served by class "A" internal roads, with up to date utilities and rail access available within two of the parks. Westland is conveniently located within the center of southeastern Michigan's expressway system, minutes north of Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and ideally located between downtown Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Westland is the area's premier "Shopping and Dining Destination". Westland Shopping center, one of the country's original four regional malls, boasts 80 retail stores and has anchored Westland's commercial district for more than 30 years. Westland's diversity and progressive planning offers residents a wide variety of life experiences, and make Westland truly the "All American City".