The Water 2.0 Project

Welcome to the future of water meter reading in Naperville.

The Water 2.0 Project is transforming the way water meters are read in Naperville. Through wireless meter interface units connected to water meter reading devices or touchpads, approximately 43,500 water meters will transmit wireless, remote, monthly readings for a better billing experience.

Wireless, remote readings have become the standard practice in utilities for many reasons. These include reducing estimated reads and avoiding environmental and man-made conditions that challenge meter-reading capability, such as weather or locked gates, which in turn can cause customers frustration.

About the Project

Naperville’s Water Utility contracted with Core & Main, who worked with project partners Sensus and VEPO, to install the wireless meter interface units on water meter reading devices or touchpads throughout the City in 2021. These units are the device that allows our utility to receive wireless meter reads.

During that time, City staff was also working on backend integrations with our billing software to ensure that the wireless meter reads could produce accurate monthly bills for our customers. Staff continues to work on backend integrations with the software that will ultimately lead to water usage data being available for customers to view online through the Empower utility dashboard.

This project is separate from the utility’s Water Meter Replacement Program, which will continue to swap out older water meters that have outlived their useful life to ensure fair and accurate billing. HBK Water Meter Service is handling residential water meter changeouts, and Calumet City Plumbing Co. is handling residential and commercial changeouts. 

What are the Benefits?

Improved service levels and more accurate, efficient data collection

Implementing Water 2.0 will allow the Water Utility to raise customer service levels through reducing estimated meter reads and providing actual-use monthly bills to customers; allowing customers to know earlier if they may have a leak, thereby helping prevent resulting higher bills; and eventually providing access to water usage data through the Empower dashboard, which can help guide customers in implementing water conservation measures, if they so choose.

Improved sustainability

The Water 2.0 Project results in fewer water meter readers and vehicles on the streets, making for a more sustainable meter-reading experience. The system also will be able to better monitor water meter health to optimize the Water Meter Replacement Program.

Improved integration with a new utility billing program

The City will be upgrading its utility billing program in the future to provide a better customer experience and capitalize on the meter-reading data improvements available through the Water 2.0 Project and past Electric Utility initiatives. Water 2.0 is critical to implement prior to launching the new billing program.

Our Customers Have Choices

The Water Utility understands some customers may prefer to continue receiving manual water meter reads. An opt-out program, similar to the one Electric Utility customers currently have available, is available at an additional charge to support manual meter reading.

The opt-out program requires a one-time charge of $31.29 as well as a monthly fee of $31.44 for a technician to manually read the water meter. These charges are outlined in the Customer Bill of Rights, which has been updated recently to include the same protections for Water customers as have been in place over the past decade for Electric customers.

View Customer Bill of Rights

Questions

Call the Naperville Water Service Center at (630) 420-6137.