Council to proceed with smart water meters

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Council are asking residents to please check their water metres and make sure they are easily accessible for staff. Image: Jereme Lane


Douglas Shire Council will be reviewing the condition of existing water meters in coming weeks as it prepares for the planned Smart Water Meter Program which was approved at Tuesday’s ordinary council meeting.

Councillors this week awarded a $670,000 contract to complete stage one of the program, which includes rolling out the hardware to about half of water meters and receivers at properties in Douglas Shire.

A smart water meter is a digital device that measures, in real time, the amount of water in use, then via a low frequency radio transmitter securely sends data to Council for processing.

The ability to analyse and monitor the information collected on every household, business and public space will be a powerful tool.

“I think everyone in the room has had excess water bills, hopefully this will start to solve that problem,” said Councillor Peter McKeown before the matter was passed.

Douglas Shire Mayor Michael Kerr agreed with Cr McKeown that the initiative was long overdue and welcomed the ability for the public to have constant access to monitor their own usage.

“Hopefully it’ll take away the burden of water rate bills that are way over the top. The community will have constant 24 hour access to their own water bills to see if there are any leaks,” he said.

Council expects the smart water program will reduce water loss, improve accuracy of water rates billing and increase participation in water saving practices with an ability to provide real-time water usage data to the community.

Mayor Kerr has asked residents to make sure their water meters are accessible and not overgrown with plants.

“The Smart Water Meter Program is a really exciting innovation for our community and is a key tool in our water security strategy,” he said.

“We are asking residents to check their water meters over the next few days and make sure they aren’t overgrown or otherwise obstructed.”

“That way you can make it easier for our staff to check on the condition of the water meter.”

Stage One of the Smart Water Meter Program has been funded from the Queensland Government’s 2021-24 Works for Queensland Program.

The remaining funding has been earmarked for Council’s 2022/23 Capital Works budget.

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