As part of WWD’s continuing efforts to provide customized editorial content, allow me to introduce you to the first of our 2005 supplements, the Meter Source, which you received inside your February issue of WWD.
The Meter Source can be best described as a close relative to our Pump Source, which appears with the April issue of WWD.
The Meter Source contains editorial content in the form of technical papers and case studies catered to the areas of flowmeters and Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) technology.
Generally, flowmeters are designed to respond to liquid passing through a measurement mechanism within the meter. Complimenting the flowmeters is the AMR technology, which includes software or communication technology that can be embedded or be part of a meter to enable water utilities to read the meter automatically—usually from a collection device in a vehicle.
As many of you already know, water utilities lose thousands of dollars in revenue each year because of faulty water meters. Consequently, meter replacements can benefit a water utility in the long run in terms of increased reliability and eliminating the lost revenue.
Fortunately, many water utilities in North America have begun to recognize this problem and are taking considerable action.
“The Scott Report: AMR Deployments in North America” revealed that of the 83 million water meters in North America, 17% of those meters incorporate AMR-related technology, and those figures are expected to increase. Evidence from the Scott Report projected approximately a 30% increase in the annual growth rate of water-related AMR units shipped in 2004 in comparison to the number shipped in 2003.
Some of the growth may be contributed to increased apartment building and home construction in North America. This construction contributes a major push in the meter market, and as a result, utilities realize the advantages of AMR-related technology installed with the new meters.
The editorial content within the Meter Source is designed to reflect the advantages of complete meter systems that promote reader safety, performance as well as improved revenue collection.