Austin Water hits milestone in water meter exchange program

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin Water installed 125,000 new digital water meters as part of a project to replace all analog meters across the city. This mark is the halfway point in the project to replace the 250,000 analog meters.

Austin Water officials said meter replacements have been made equitably throughout all districts of the city and the utility is on track to finish the $95 million project by the start of 2025.

Going digital in water infrastructure

The utility started replacing analog meters in 2020 and hit its latest milestone in mid-April. The digital meters are meant to update the utility's infrastructure while also providing customers with an up-to-date look at their water consumption.

Customers can now use the My ATX Water portal to track their monthly, daily, and hourly water consumption. The new portal can alert people when their water consumption is pushing them into a new tiered rate in the bill structure, which would create a higher water bill. This way there are no surprises on your water bill, according to Randi Jenkins, the assistant director for customer experience at Austin Water.

The new digital meters can also alert you to any water leaks in your system.

"We've had everything from actual real leaks to customers that just said, 'Hey, my spouse left the hose running last night and without this notification I wouldn't have even known.' That water would have continued on for days and they would've received a high bill," Jenkins explained.

What if my meter is still analog?

Austin Water still has another 125,000 water meters to replace. Jenkins said customers will receive a letter in the mail a month before a crew will replace the meters.

Jenkins said the replacement only takes about 15 minutes for crews to finish and should not be a large disruption for customers.

You can actually check when your home address will be getting its meter changed using this tool on the Austin Water website. It lists the addresses that have a scheduled replacement.

Customers who do not have a digital meter yet can still sign up for the My ATX Water portal. You will not be able to read hourly usage on the portal until you receive your digital meter, but you can still review monthly usage.