The first phase of a Birmingham Water Works project to transition to an automated meter-reading system should be complete and a second phase should begin by the end of the year, according to a consultant BWW hired in December to assist with the change.

Phase one includes selecting vendors for smart meters and other aspects of the system, and phase two involves planning for the implementation phase. The system is slated to be fully operational in 2028.

Automated meters wirelessly transmit water-use data, eliminating the need to manually read meters. The switch to automated meters is expected to significantly reduce the number of inaccurate and estimated bills BWW customers have complained about for years.

“It improves the customer experience tremendously,” Nicole Naassan, senior vice president of E Source, told BWW board members during a meeting Wednesday. “Once the technology, software and the tools are deployed, it will provide your customers with online ability to view consumption. It ultimately lends to the ability to conserve water and to manage your water usage as a customer.”

Another benefit of these systems, Naassan said, is they allow water utilities to notify customers of leaks before high water bills raise concerns.

E Source has a $7.96 million consulting agreement with BWW to guide the utility in transitioning to an advanced metering-infrastructure system. It includes helping BWW select hardware, software, a network and other elements of the AMI system.

A needs assessment that was part of phase one of the project was completed in November, Nassaan said.

The next step is selecting vendors for:

• System components including water meters and the boxes that will house them, network infrastructure and a system for data transmission and monitoring.
• Installation of AMI meters and related equipment.
• Software to manage meter data.

Invitations to bid on those three items will be published Monday, said Jon Mitchell, a principal consultant with E Source, and vendor contracts should be chosen in the last quarter of the year.

During the assessment step last year, E Source discovered that the SAP CIS software BWW uses needs an upgrade in order to work with the AMI system, Naassan said, and an E Source team member will be working with BWW on that.

“And the intention there is to make sure, is there anything that can be done during the SAP project that will make the AMI project easier – so things like business process, design integration, the customer portal,” Naassan said. “So, there’s elements that can be discovered.”

While the SAP upgrade is taking place, she said, E Source will begin phase two of the project, the implementation-planning phase, by conducting activities including establishing a project-governance structure and developing plans for field remediation and customer communications.

BWW’s 2025 budget includes $10 million to begin buying the meters needed to shift to an automated system. BWW is testing various smart meters as part of its selection process, Naassan said.