Birmingham Water Works could soon replace the system it uses to test the accuracy of water meters in its network.

The current testing system is 25 years old and is not compatible with the automated meter-reading infrastructure the Water Works is set to begin implementing this year or with the SAP S/4HANA software the utility uses, said Derrick Murphy, assistant general manager, engineering and maintenance, for the Water Works.

“Every asset you have has a useful life,” Murphy said. “We’ve expanded it as far as we possibly could by maintaining it, but it comes to a point where your maintenance starts to kind of exceed what you can (pay to) go ahead and move forward and get a new system.”

Water meters measure the amount of water that flows through pipes, and water utilities use their readings to generate bills. If meter measurements are inaccurate, bills could be, too. Malfunctioning meters typically underreport water usage, which can lead to water leaks not being detected.

The Water Works, which operates a network of approximately 220,000 meters, tests all large meters and 10% of smaller meters before putting them into service, Murphy said. He said it also tests meters as part of regular audits and when customers or meter readers notice problems or damage to meters – such as that caused by a vehicle rolling over them. Most meter-testing equipment is located at a Water Works facility, but mobile units allow staff to test hospital meters and other large meters in the field.

“The last thing you want to do is pull out a meter and cut off water to a hospital,” Murphy said.

The Water Works’ Engineering and Maintenance Committee voted Monday to recommend to the Birmingham Water Works Board that it replace all three test benches that are part of the current system and buy a fourth portable test bench, at a cost of about $1.2 million. The committee also recommended five-year maintenance and software packages for about $190,000 and $1.67 million, respectively.

The manufacturer of the meter-testing system, MARS Company, which Murphy told the committee is the only one that offers test benches meeting the Water Works’ requirements, is also offering an option to upgrade parts of the existing system for about $580,000.

“If you upgrade the system, you’ll only get a warranty for what you have upgraded,” Murphy said. “Some of the parts will be warrantied, and some of them will not be.”

The Water Works Board could vote on whether to replace or upgrade the meter-testing system at its next meeting, on Jan. 29.

The new meter-testing system would be compatible with automated smart meters the Waters Works is preparing to install that are expected to reduce instances of unread meters, missing bills and inaccurate readings that Water Works customers in the five-county greater Birmingham area have complained about for years. The 2025 budget the Birmingham Water Works Board approved in November includes $10 million to begin buying the smart meters, and the automated system is slated to be functional in 2028.