Perth smart water meter pilot
When it comes to managing your water, every drop counts, so we're harnessing the power of data through smart meters to help customers understand and manage their water use and provide important insights to save our valuable resource.
The Perth smart water meter pilot is an innovative project that will shape Western Australia's water future and help improve our services while we work towards a more sustainable future.
Pilot goal:
The outcomes of the pilot will be used to make a decision about transitioning from standard meters to smart meters in the future.
Status:
In progress
Delivery Date:
2023 - 2025
How will the pilot work?
The properties that have been selected have features that will enable us to measure the benefits of smart metering for our customers and represent the broader Perth population. The data collected will help us optimise our water network and inform customers about their water use.
The first installation will be around West Perth, where we will install 250 smart meters in August. The focus during the initial phase will be on testing installation techniques and enabling troubleshooting of data flows before the larger rollout.
The installation of the remaining 16,000 meters will commence in April 2024, and should be complete by the end of the year.
Insights from the pilot will help us understand what the future of smart meters will look like for both our customers and our business.
Why smart meters?
We have been using smart meters for over 10 years in regional areas where it can be difficult for our meter readers to access properties safely.
With new technology now available, we can use smart meters to improve the safety, reliability, and efficiency of meter readings while providing our customers with a better online service.
Smart water meters also have a range of benefits like identifying potential leaks, which can help you save water and money.
Learn more about smart meters.
Where are the smart meters being installed?
To date, we have installed about 160 smart water meters around West Perth.
The remainder will be installed across 14 different water zones throughout Perth, to capture multiple insights and measure the benefits for our customers.
As part of the pilot roll-out, we have included:
- properties with mixed ground topography (in the hills and on the coast)
- a mix of business and residential customers
- properties with meters located in boxes or behind fences.
Areas & suburbs included in the pilot
District metered area (Water supply zone) | Suburbs included in the area |
---|---|
Claremont Booster | Claremont Cottesloe Peppermint Grove |
Darlington Lower High Level | Darlington Greenmount Swan View |
Dawesville South DMA | Dawesville Mandurah |
Doubleview Upper High Level | Doubleview Woodlands |
East Fremantle High Level | Bicton East Fremantle |
Fremantle DMA | Beaconsfield East Fremantle Fremantle White Gum Valley |
Greenfields South DMA | Greenfields |
Halls Head North High Level | Halls Head |
Halls Head South High Level | Halls Head |
Joondalup High Level | Joondalup |
Lakelands Booster DMA | Lakelands |
Maddington North DMA | Kenwick Maddington Orange Grove |
North Fremantle DMA | Cottesloe Fremantle North Fremantle |
West Perth PRV | Perth Subiaco West Perth |
If you have more questions, we've got you covered. Please refer to the frequently asked questions below for more information on the pilot.
Specific water zones have been selected for the pilot to enable us to assess the performance of the technology. This includes properties in the hills and on the coast, businesses and households, and properties with meters located in boxes or behind fences.
The properties we’ve selected are also representative of the broader Perth population so we can assess the value of smart meters for our customers.
Once your smart meter is installed, it'll start recording your water use and send this data to us wirelessly once a day. However, we'll continue to manually read your meter during a transition period.
During the installation phase you won’t have access to your smart meter data, however we are working on new functionality that allows you to view your hourly water use in your online account. If you haven't already, register for an online account.
We'll also be able to send you alerts if your smart meter detects unusual water use, such as a leak.
Once everything is working as it should, we'll reach out to you with an opportunity to provide feedback on your experience.
Once we've installed all the smart meters, we'll monitor the technology for a period of time to ensure it’s connected and transferring data to us. We'll continue to manually read your smart meter to track your water use during this time, and you'll receive your water use bills as per the normal bill cycle.
You can also read your smart meter to track your water use during this time and access your two monthly water use in your online account. We’ll let you know once your smart meter data is up and running in your online account and when you can register to receive alerts. We expect this to be available by the end of the year.
If your standard meter was faulty before the installation of your meter, then your first bill may be larger than usual. We may have also been estimating your water use if we couldn't access your meter. We estimate your water use by taking your average daily water use from the same time last year and multiplying it by the number of days in the current billing period.
So if your standard meter was faulty or we were estimating your water use, your water use may be corrected when your smart meter is installed. If we underestimated your water use, we'll charge the difference in your next bill. If we overestimated your use, we'll provide a credit to your account.
If you suspect you have a leak, visit our step-by-step-guide to help you find out.
Properties have been selected for the pilot because they're located in specific water zones. This is so we can assess the benefits of better data to optimise our water networks. For this reason, it's important that all properties within the water zone receive a smart meter. Registering to receive leak and water use alerts is completely optional.
There are many benefits to having a smart meter, which you can learn more about on our 'Smart meters' page.
If you have any further questions about your involvement, please email us at smartmeters@watercorporation.com.au.
We’ll continue to read your smart water meter every two months, and if we suspect high water use or a possible leak, we will notify you the same way we currently do - via email or a letter to the property owner.
We’ll let you know when you can register to receive alerts if your smart meter identifies a possible leak or unusual use.
While we strive to do what we can to notify you of suspected leaks, it’s the responsibility of the property owner to find and repair any leaks on their property and pay for any excess water use caused by leaks. We recommend that you check for leaks between bills regularly. Here is an easy step-by-step-guide.
The smart water meters use secure, existing telecommunication infrastructure to send your usage data to our servers and systems. The data doesn’t contain any identifying information about you and uses global standards to ensure the data is secure from end to end. No personal information is stored on the smart water metering device itself. We know privacy is important to you; for more information, please read about how we manage your information following the Privacy Act 1988.
Smart meters communicate data via telecommunication networks, similar to how mobile phones send data. All smart water meters currently being used and/or trialled by Water Corporation are low-powered radio devices fully compliant with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM).
Smart meters are battery-powered. To make the batteries last their expected life, the radio is only turned on once daily to upload the daily water flow data. The electromagnetic energy emissions from a smart meter are considerably lower than the general exposure health limits set by the standard published by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA).
Stay updated with the latest information on our smart water meter pilot in Perth.
March 2024
The next phase of smart meter installations as part of the Perth Smart Water Meter Pilot will kick off in April, and includes properties in the Halls Heads, Darlington and Dawesville water zones.
All meters are expected to be installed by the end of May 2024.
To find out if your property is included in this next phase, refer to the maps below.
All customers within the shaded water supply zones will receive a smart meter, and will be notified four weeks prior to their planned meter installation.
Halls Head water supply zone
Darlington water supply zone
Dawesville water supply zone
Need more information? Please email us