The Maui News

About 26,000 small water meters, 2 inches or smaller, will be replaced in a four-year project, beginning this month in Waikapu, the county Department of Water Supply said Tuesday.

The new meters will include cellular transponders that will allow water department workers to read meters remotely and customers to create an online account and view water usage in real time over the internet.

The replacement is free to water department customers.

Professional Meters Inc. has been awarded the contract for the removal of existing meters and new water meter installations. PMI completed work on a similar project with the County of Kauai in 2008-09 and has installed hundreds of thousands of water meters for counties and municipalities all across the United States over the past 20 years, the county said.

The water department will be charged by the unit installed and the meter size, said Maui County spokesman Brian Perry. The meter for a typical 5/8 inch line will cost the county $84.50 per unit to install.

The meter installation only will take about 15 minutes, said water Director Jeff Pearson. Interruption of water service “should be very brief,” he said.

Small meter installations will occur between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. weekdays, except holidays. Customers will not need to be present during the installation process.

But “meters must be accessible and should not be blocked by bushes, vines, equipment or other materials,” Pearson said. If a meter is located behind a fence or gate or in an area that is difficult to access, PMI will provide customers with a call-in number to make an appointment and arrangements for meter change.

“We want this project to be as seamless as possible for our customers and want to thank them in advance for their cooperation and assistance,” Pearson said.

Customers will be notified in advance by mail of work in their area. Additional project information will be available on the water supply website at mauiwater.org.

The first year of the project is scheduled in Waikapu, Wailuku, Waihee and Paia. The second year is expected to include Kahului and Lahaina.

“We are excited about these upgrades to the system and know that it will give our customers more information about their own water use and will also make meter reading more efficient for the department,” Pearson said.