The East Williston Board of Trustees is considering implementing cellular water meters in the village.
Mayor Bonnie Parente said the cost could amount to $400 per household, but exact figures have not been determined.
The board’s argument for an update at a meeting Monday was the age of the water meters in residents’ homes.
“We all have water meters in our homes and they are read twice a year. Sometimes you have someone from our [Department of Public Works] knock on your door or make an appointment,” Parente said. “At another time of the year, you may have to read your own meter … These meters are old and probably not extremely accurate.”
With the proposed readers, which Parente called “radio cell readers,” village workers would not have to come to residents’ homes; instead digital readings would be sent to Village Hall. Parente said a resident could use a cellphone app to see water usage throughout the day.
“It’s a radio cell reader. So, no one has to drive by your house to get the read,” Parente said.
She said that it has not been decided if the bill for the new meters will go to residents or be paid using a bond through the village. She said she is not in favor of taking out a bond to cover costs for cellular meters.
The village board hosted representatives from Badger Meter and Saks Metering Monday in order for residents to ask questions about the technology and its installation, Parente said.
Parente said that she heard from a resident who could not attend the meeting that she had health concerns over having a cellular reader in a person’s home. Ken Dahlinger, a spokesman for Badger Meter, said the readers meet all FCC regulations for radiofrequency devices and they will not be harmful to residents.
“This device sends out the signaling to the amount of a text message. It’s not like having a cellphone next to your head,” Dahlinger said.
Dahlinger said that the new devices would be located in the basement rather than the yard, meaning that people will be farther from the radio device than a cellphone, cordless phone or television remote.
These devices would also be able to sense if there were issues with a resident’s water system quickly, Dahlinger said.
Randy Baxendale, another Badger Meter representative, said that it took about a year to install these devices in Hicksville. Parente said that installations would occur much quicker in the village because East Williston has about 850 homes compared with Hicksville’s 15,000.
