SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Water System (SAWS) is in the process of installing new water meters for all their customers, in hopes of increasing transparency for customers on how they're billed.
The $215 million "ConnectH2O" program was officially approved by the SAWS board in December 2021, with installation of meters officially beginning in 2022. Tuesday, SAWS explains they have officially installed the new meters for half of their customers.
"We're able to install about 5,000 meters per week," said Cecilia Velasquez, SAWS vice president of customer experience and strategic initiatives. "We have another year or so worth to finish our 610,000 meters by the end of 2025."
The meters, Velasquez explains, are more customer-friendly and easier to read.
"Our previous meters were read in hundreds of cubic feet," Velasquez said. "Now they're read in just a gallon. So if you do press that button throughout that meter, you'll be able to see your average usage, the number of gallons per that period of time, the rate of gallons for each of those."
Within 48 hours of installation, customers have access to their water usage by hour, day and month. Instead of getting just one bill a month, customers will also be able to see if and when there is a leak.
"If you don't think you have a leak and you're able to turn off all your appliances, you should be able to see zero gallons as a rate on that meter," Velasquez said. "We understand that customers want that real-time information. Prior to that, we were only able to do one time a month read. Now we have again hourly rate intervals provided to our customers, a huge advantage in terms of when they're able to see or how much they're able to see their data usage."
Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia of District 4 explains their office receives calls from frustrated SAWS customers, who want something done about their high bill. For the councilwoman, the Connect H2O program is something she believes is useful.
"This program is really a way to be ahead of the curve, so maybe it'll alert you, just at the right time before it [your bill] gets out of hand," she said. "That's what technology is intended to do, is improve our lives, and I think that this is one of the things that this particular program will do for our ratepayers at SAWS."
Even those that don't have access to a computer or the app will be able to call into SAWS and get their hourly water usage provided.
"Whether we're reaching out to them or they want to call us and get that information, our call center associates can walk them through any of that interval data," Velasquez said. "If they're not wanting to, whether they can't or they are not willing to look online, then we can always provide that information via our calls and our agents."
SAWS plans to have the new water meters installed for all customers by December 2025. Customers will be notified two weeks in advance about their installation.