City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: January 23, 2024
Agenda Item: 5.J
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Water Resources Subject: Adoption of a Resolution for Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Water Meter Opt-Out Fee
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of categorical exemptions pursuant to Section 15273 and Section 15302 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
2. Adopt the attached Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Opt-Out Fee Resolution to establish the one-time AMI opt-out fee and routine water meter reading fee per billing cycle for customers that opt-out.
Summary
The City of Santa Monica’s Water Resources Division within the Public Works Department delivers high-quality drinking water to approximately 18,400 metered water connections in the city. In August 2022, the City Council authorized staff to enter into an agreement with Badger, Inc. to upgrade the City’s water meters to an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system and deployment of the AMI system began summer of 2023. The AMI system, or advanced meters, provide real-time information on water usage and allow for improved leak detection, which would significantly enhance the City’s water conservation efforts, and provide customers with the ability to track their water use on a daily basis. Staff has developed an AMI Opt-Out Policy to provide customers with the opportunity to opt-out of using the AMI signal transmission for their water meter. Staff recommends the adoption of the AMI Opt-Out Fee Resolution for both the one-time opt-out fee and the routine water meter reading fee for each billing cycle.
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Discussion
The City’s current water meters are read manually on a bi-monthly schedule to bill each customer for their water use. For example, a customer’s June water bill is for water that is consumed during the prior two months (April and May). The AMI Project was approved in the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget and is funded through the 2021 Water Revenue Bonds. The AMI project includes the replacement of aging non-AMI compatible meters, meter box lids, installation of cellular data transmitters (encoders) on every meter, data migration capability to the City’s billing software, and a customer water monitoring portal. Benefits of the AMI system include:
real-time water usage information to alert customers of water leaks (e.g. pipe breaks, toilet leaks, and broken valves), prevention of possible water damage to properties from leaks, enhanced customer service, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through reduced vehicle miles and fuel consumption from manually reading the water meters.
The AMI system is a cloud-based system that transmits near real-time water use data from each advanced meter via cellular network. The advanced meter is capable of providing water usage information at 15-minute intervals and transmitted up to four times per day to customer usage portals for each customer to view their water use in real-time and get leak alert notifications. Each customer would no longer have to wait until the end of the bi-monthly billing cycle to see their water use information on their utility bill. A small percentage of customers, typically around 1-6% of the customer base based on prior AMI projects completed by other municipalities, prefers the traditional manually read water meters over the technology and efficiency improvements of the AMI system, primarily due to concerns over radio frequency transmissions and data security.
As the advanced meters transmit information wirelessly over a cellular network, some customers have expressed concerns regarding possible health effects of wireless signals. These concerns have been brought to the attention of many California state legislators in the past who have sought independent, unbiased, expert advice on human exposure to wireless signals and the efficacy of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) safety standards and limits for these signals from the California 3 of 4
Council of Science and Technology. Key findings of the California Council of Science and Technology on the advanced meters include:
• Wireless advanced meters, when installed and maintained properly, result in much lower levels of exposure to radio frequency than common household electronic devices, notably cell phones and microwave ovens. A majority of the city’s water meters are located outside of the residential household near the street, in sidewalks, or in the alleyways.
• The current FCC standard provides an adequate factor of safety against known thermally-induced health impacts of existing common household electronic devices and advanced meters.
With regards to data security, a small number of customers have expressed concerns over transmitting data wirelessly from the place of their residence to the customer portal as their reason for wanting to opt-out of the AMI system. It should be noted that personal information is not transmitted by the advanced meters and only water consumption information is transmitted. Only authorized City staff and the account holder would be able to access the water usage data.
The proposed AMI Opt-Out Policy (Attachment B) and AMI Opt-Out Application form (Attachment C) is included for reference. The customer would be responsible for paying the one-time opt-out fee ($107) for billing and water resources staff to setup the water meter and account for manual meter reads, and routine meter reading fee ($26 per billing cycle) to cover the cost associated with manually reading their water meter for billing purposes. The proposed AMI opt-out fee and routine meter reading fee are to cover staff time required to perform the work. The fees will be incorporated into the City’s Master Fee Resolution and shall be adjusted each year with all other City fees.
Environmental Review
The adoption of the AMI Opt-Out Fee Resolution is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15273 of the CEQA Guidelines, which states that CEQA does not apply to the establishment, modification, structuring, restructuring, or approval of rates, tolls, fares, 4 of 4
and other charges by public agencies which the public agency finds are for the purpose of maintaining operating expenses or for capital projects. The replacement of water meters is categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15302 (Replacement and Reconstruction) of the CEQA Guidelines. Section 15302 exempts Class 2 projects which “consists of replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced”.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
8/23/2022 (Attachment A) Bid award for Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meter replacement
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There are no immediate financial impacts or budget actions necessary as a result of the recommended actions. The proposed AMI opt-out fee and routine meter reading fee are to cover staff time required to perform the work. Staff would return to Council if specific budget actions are required in the future. The fees will be incorporated into the City’s Master Fee Resolution and shall be adjusted each year with all other City fees.
Prepared By: Sunny Wang, Water Resources Manager
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Bid Award for Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Meter Replacement (Web Link)
B. AMI Opt-Out Policy - DRAFT_121123
C. AMI Opt-Out Application - DRAFT_121323
D. AMI Opt-Out Fee Resolution_121123