CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approve the award of Single Source Procurement 26-181, Sensus Water Meters, to Core and Main for an amount not to exceed $738,276 and for a six-month term
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DEPARTMENT: Water Utilities
SUBMITTED BY: Darrell Blenniss, Director
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
The Water Utilities ("Utilities") standardized to Sensus water meters in 2012 following an evaluation of meter performance, accuracy, interoperability, and long-term asset management needs. In 2022-2023, the Utilities, in coordination with the Finance Department, completed the installation of a Sensus Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system and transitioned to a Sensus Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform for meter reading, data management, and billing integration. The City currently operates more than 45,000 water meters within the distribution system. These meters communicate directly with the Sensus AMI network and are fully integrated with the City's billing systems.
The Utilities follows the American Water Works Association (AWWA) recommended practice of replacing water meters on a 16-year life cycle. AWWA research and industry guidance show that most residential and commercial water meters begin to experience measurable accuracy degradation after 15-20 years of service. Replacing meters on a planned 16-year cycle ensures accurate billing and revenue recovery, reliable meter performance, reduced maintenance and field service calls, consistent AMI communication, and compliance with industry best practices.
This life-cycle approach also supports long-term asset management by spreading replacement costs evenly over time and preventing large-scale meter failures or sudden systemwide accuracy losses.
This procurement includes 2,541 3/4" - 6" water meters, 497 large meter Omni+ registers and 500 FlexNet SmartPoints.
DISCUSSION:
This Single Source is requested for a one-time purchase of Sensus water meters, registers and SmartPoints....
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