How a small city in Arizona plans to battle drought with water AMI

As parts of Arizona continue to battle severe drought conditions, a 150km² sized city has announced new initiatives to better manage water consumption, including a transition to AMI and the development of two new aquifer storage and recovery wells.

Chandler City, located in the Maricopa County with a population of just over 281,000, has announced new initiatives as water management in the county continues to be a pain point.

Key among these initiatives is a $14 million project between the city’s Council and cooling solutions company Ferguson Enterprises to transition from advanced meter reading (AMR) to advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).

Currently, the city collects approximately 87,000 monthly water meter reads using drive-by AMR. The data collected from the meters is used to produce monthly bills for the city’s utility customers.

The agreement with Ferguson will allow the city to transition from AMR to AMI, which will consist of an integrated system of smart meters, a communication network and data management.

With AMI, says the Council in a release, customers will be able to view and manage their daily water consumption data, receive leak detection alerts and water system notifications and pay their monthly bill through a customer portal.

The new AMI meters will communicate with gateway collectors (small antennas) that will be strategically placed throughout the city.

Approximately 48 gateway collectors will be purchased and installed and approximately 30,000 meters, that are incompatible with AMI technology, will be replaced.

Aging meters are replaced every year; these meters are due for replacement within the next three to four years. Meters that are greater than 15 years old have a higher tendency to read inaccurately, resulting in incorrect billing or equipment failure. The new meters will have a life expectancy of 20 years.

A total of $1.2 million in grant funds from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA) will be used for the project.

Installation of the new equipment is scheduled to begin in late 2024.

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Arizona drought

As of a 19 September 2024 update from the US drought monitor, more than half the Maricopa County – wherein lies both Chandler and Arizona’s capital city Phoenix, a 26-minute drive away – is experiencing moderate to severe drought levels.

The state has been experiencing its current drought for nearly 15 years, surpassing the worst drought in more than 110 years of official recordkeeping, states the city of Phoenix.

Commenting over email to Smart Energy International on the drought and how AMI can be used to mitigate it was Tricia Anklan, director in West Monroe’s Energy & Utilities practice, specialising in water utilities.

Said Anklan: “Arizona has been experiencing a severe and sustained drought since the mid to late 1990s – and as we continue to face increasing climate change impacts, our communities need to be investing in new technology to better manage our water resources. AMI can detect leaks on a customer’s property within a day or two, whereas previously these could run undetected for a month or more. The insights from hourly water usage data can help customers use water more efficiently and better control their bill costs.

“At the utility level, AMI can help pinpoint leaks in the vast, underground water distribution system, optimise pressure and pumping, and right-size infrastructure investments.

“This drought is felt beyond Arizona and throughout the west, with the Colorado River System experiencing severe drought conditions since 2000 – and tools like AMI will help us prepare for increased stress on our water systems.”

Reclaimed water and an EPA grant

Beyond AMI, other strategies can be used to battle drought.

The city of Phoenix, to meet community needs should the drought linger, says they have built a portfolio of water supplies, including surface water, groundwater, and effluent or ‘reclaimed’ water.

Chandler City too has a reclaimed water distribution system, whereby reclaimed water – converted from municipal wastewater or sewage and industrial wastewater – is stored in the aquifer beneath the ground and accessed by wells when demands for reclaimed water are high.

Additionally, three days after the announcement of the AMI project, Chandler City Council said they submitted a $3 million grant application to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to support the development of two new aquifer storage and recovery wells at Tumbleweed Park.

The grant funds will help offset the anticipated $13.5 million cost to develop the two new well sites at the park.

The aquifer storage and recovery wells support Chandler’s reclaimed water distribution system. Through the system, states the City Council, billions of gallons of reclaimed water are provided for landscape irrigation and industrial uses every year, which preserves Chandler’s drinking water supplies.

The application, through the support of US senator Kyrsten Sinema and US representative Greg Stanton, is eligible for Congressionally Directed Spending through the EPA’s Community Grants Program, says the City Council.

Said representative Stanton: “We need to be proactive about investing in smart water infrastructure that meets Chandler residents’ needs while allowing businesses to grow sustainably.

“That’s why I was proud to work in partnership with Mayor Harke to secure $3 million in federal funding to bring this critical project to life, boosting Chandler’s resilience to drought…”