City Council
259 N. Wilma Avenue
Ripon, CA 95366
MEMO
To: Honorable City Council
From: James Pease, Public Works Director
Date: 03/08/2022
Subject: Water Meter Endpoint Purchase
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the purchase of endpoint telemetry devices for all City water meters from Badger Meter, Inc. in the amount of $228,140 (funding source: Water Enterprise Capital Fund).
BACKGROUND:
As part of the Water Meter Installation Project in 2015, the City directly purchased approximately 4,000 endpoint telemetry devices from Badger Meter, Inc. that allow water meters to send usage data back to the City via a cellular signal. The endpoint devices purchased had a 10-year battery life with a 5-year full replacement warranty and a 5-year pro-rated replacement warranty. At the end of this 10-year period the City would be responsible for the purchase and replacement of the endpoint devices which was originally scheduled for 2025.
DISCUSSION:
The endpoint devices installed used the latest technology at the time and are configured to run on the 3G cellular network. In April 2020, the major wireless carriers began signaling that they intended to upgrade their existing towers to the newer LTE (4G/5G) standards. This turndown of the 3G networks was scheduled to happen as soon as January 2022. Network performance outside of Badger Meter, Inc. control was not included as part of the original warranty. Badger Meter, Inc. has been working with the major wireless carriers and they have agreed to extend the 3G network longevity through December 31, 2022. The City will need to replace a majority of our current endpoint devices prior to the end of 2022 in order to continue to perform remote meter reads and provide customers online access to their detailed water usage data.
The new endpoint devices offered from Badger Meter, Inc. include a 20-year battery life with a 10-year full replacement warranty and a 10-year pro-rated replacement warranty. Also provided is a guarantee of network performance that states if the communication network supporting the endpoint devices in our service area explicitly and publicly discontinues operation during the product warranty time period Badger Meter, Inc. will supply a replacement for free if it occurs within 10-years or at the pro-rated cost if occurring in years 11-20.
Attached are the product data/warranty sheet and the cost proposal.
FISCAL IMPACT:
As mentioned above the endpoint product battery life and warranty was scheduled to end after a period of 10 years which would have meant a purchase in the year 2025. The current price of the new endpoints is $110 each, the City will need 4,148 endpoints which equals $456,280. Due to the unforeseen circumstances of the wireless providers and the City needing to purchase the endpoints in 2022, Badger Meter, Inc. has agreed to reduce the cost by 50%, bringing the total amount to $228,140, which will be paid through the Water Enterprise Capital fund.
Additionally, the City Public Works Department staff time to install the endpoints will cost approximately $40,000.
Attachments:
1. Cellular Water Meter Endpoint Data Sheet and Warranty
2. Endpoint Cost Proposal - Badger Meter, Inc