Improving Our Village with New “Smart” Water Meters

The safety, security, and health of residents are the Village’s top priorities. As part of these goals, this summer the Village of Northfield is modernizing essential infrastructure in our community and replacing all residential and business water meters (at no cost). These new meters will help the Village manage our critical water system infrastructure more effectively and deliver improved customer service.  

The Village’s water meter replacement program is necessary because our existing water meters have degraded and are past their usefulness. The new water meters will deliver accurate, real-time water readings for customers and help us to monitor our water resources village-wide.  

This summer, you will receive a letter from the Village requesting that you schedule a water meter replacement appointment with the project subcontractor, United Meters Inc. These improvements are critical to our water utility system, and residents’ cooperation and participation are necessary and appreciated. There are no out-of-pocket costs to water customers for the water meter replacement.

The Village greatly appreciates your cooperation and our staff is available to answer questions that you may have about the process.

“Smart" Technology
The Village will be installing “smart” water meter technology that utilizes a remote wireless meter reading process through the Sensus water meter product line. Sensus is a leader in this industry and is known for its reliability, accuracy, and longevity. This technology is widely used on the North Shore and has been proven to provide superior customer service, reduced operation costs, and greater data accuracy.

The installation of new “smart” water meters will also improve the water customer experience by giving customers greater access to their water usage, allowing them to monitor high usage, more quickly detect water leaks, and establish water conservation programs.  

The new “smart” meter reading system, Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI), is an automatic process that collects readings multiple times a day as well as on-demand, as the figure below explains. 

Water and Cost Savings
The new “smart” meter system will eliminate the cost of staff hours needed for meter readings, reduce the Village’s carbon footprint by eliminating the need for the “drive-by” meter readings, and help us comply with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ requirements to detect water leaks and minimize water loss in our system.  

Schedule Your Meter Replacement Appointment
This summer, you will receive a letter to call United Meters Inc. to schedule your appointment.  Generally, appointments are completed within 30 minutes and your water service will be turned off during the appointment. An adult who is 18 years of age or older must be present.  Most water meters are located inside homes or businesses, and the installer will require access to the meter’s location.

United Meters Inc. Installers Canvassing in Neighborhoods
If you do not schedule your water meter replacement after receiving your notification letter, a United Meters Inc. installer may come to your door to ask if you are available for a water meter replacement. Installers will be canvasing between appointments.  All installers will be carrying a Village-issued ID badge and be traveling in a marked United Meters Inc. vehicle.  If no one is home or the resident is unavailable, the installer will leave a door hanger with more information about making an appointment. 

Safety Precautions
All United Meters Inc. installers will undergo a background check from the Village.  Installers will wear face masks and socially distance as much as possible.

Contact Information
The Village appreciates your cooperation in making this vital project a success. Please contact Public Works with questions or concerns at 847-441-3810.