Online customer portal will allow residents to monitor their own water usage
by Katie Arvia
LANSING, Ill. (April 26, 2019) – Over the past year, the Village of Lansing has undergone a complete water meter replacement program. The project is nearly 100% complete, with only approximately 200 meters still needing to be replaced, most of which are on vacant lots.
While this project has been a big change for some residents, the new water meters come with many benefits. Core & Main, a distributor of waterworks products, presented the new features to the attendees of the Committee of the Whole meeting on March 5.
Benefits to residents
The meters, purchased from Sensus and installed by Calumet City Plumbing, will now allow residents to closely monitor their water usage using an online, interactive customer portal. Homeowners can set up usage alerts, which can help families stay on track with their water usage goals or inform a resident if a pipe breaks while on vacation. These alerts can be sent remotely via text or email.
The alerts can be sent to multiple customers; landlords can add tenants to their portal, allowing residents to stay on top of their monthly costs.
“You can add multiple users to see these results,” said Tim, a representative from Core & Main. “You can add as many as you want to your alert warnings.”
The new portal also allows customers to compare current water usage to past usage, which works in terms of seasons as well. Users will be able to identify potential spikes in water consumption during the summer, for example, and compare that to winter usage.
“They can view how they’re using water in any interval they want to see,” said Tim. “It’s good for conservation because you can compare how much you’re using and where you want to be during the next month.”
The good news for residents without internet access at home is that they can still contact Public Works with any questions or concerns about their monthly water bill.
Benefits to the Village
While the new portal absolutely benefits individual residents, the program also will benefit the village.
“There’s lots of analytical tools that the village can use,” Village Administrator Dan Podgorski said, one of which will be seeing which properties are and are not using water. This will help the village keep track of any vacant properties throughout town. While the focus of the portal is currently on resident usage, Podgorski says he hopes to find many other beneficial uses for the program.
As of right now, the Village has not yet decided how to proceed with resident enrollment in the online program. However, when sign-ups become available, it will be an easy process that is free to all Lansing residents. (There is a small annual set-up charge, which the village plans to absorb.) Podgorski hopes the portal will be available to residents soon.
Related:
- Residential water meter replacements 40% complete (August 2018 article)
