ncawwa-wea finance and management committee billing and ... · • 3 water treatment plants, 5...

NCAWWA-WEA Finance and Management Committee

Billing and Collection Systems

February 27, 2013

Background - CMUD Facts

• Serves City of Charlotte, Towns in Mecklenburg County (272,000 metered accounts)

• City of Charlotte enterprise fund – customer-funded, not taxpayer-funded

• 746 employees serve ~ 796,000 people

• 3 Water Treatment Plants, 5 Wastewater Treatment Plants – Treat, deliver 100 MGD drinking water

– Treat, recycle 76 MGD wastewater

• Maintain over 4,000 miles of distribution – and over 4000 miles of collection pipe

• Water Intakes at Lake Norman & Mountain Island Lakes

Monthly Data

• 3 billion gallons (100 MGD) of water used

• 450 water line leaks & main breaks repaired (~15/day)

– Approx. 30% of repairs are classified as emergency priority & fixed w/in 24 hrs. or less.

• 2.3 billion gallons (76 million gallons per day) of wastewater collected & treated

– 23 sewer overflows cleaned up & remediated (less than 1/day).

– Average sewer overflow response time is less than one hour.

• CharMeck 311 processes 40,000 citizen calls for Utility issues

• 24,000 field service orders performed by staff

• 272,000 meters read and billed

What We Do?

How we got to current state…

• Pre-AMR there were challenges – 5% growth rate per year – 102% turnover rate for

meter readers

• Began transition to AMR in 2002

• Currently read 272,000 meters – With 3 full time and 1 part

time readers – Perform 13,000/mo. meter

reading related service orders

AMR: Background/Going Forward

What Changed in 2010?


Rate Increase

Citizen Taskforce Formed

Evaluation 40-Point

Plan Meter Audit

July 2009 Dec. 2009 Jan. 2010 Sept. 2010 Oct. 2010

• 2009 – Internal process

transitions & conflicts; Drought ends & watering allowed; Rate increase; Customer complaints

• City Manager evaluation in

January 2010 leads to cross departmental team and 40-Point Improvement Plan


High Bill!

CMUD’s Residential Meters

• 5/8-inch Disc Meter

– Pulse registers

– Absolute encoded registers (2011)


Why do we use these meters?

• Analyzing the industry studies of metering technologies has shown that the positive displacement measuring element is the most accurate instrument marketed


Study shows that all meters are not created equally…

Water Research Foundation Study



Nutating Disc 30 30 100% 27 90% 30 100%

Oscillating Piston 48 37 77% 43 90% 48 100%

Multi-Jet 42 32 76% 37 88% 38 90%

Single-Jet 24 18 75% 18 75% 18 75%

Fluidic Oscillator 6 6 100% 6 100% 6 100%

Overall 150 123 82% 131 87% 140 93%

Meter TypeMinimum Intermediate Maximum

Number of Meters Meeting AWWA Flow Accuracy StandardNumber

Study Details

• Research Components – 18 U.S. Manufacturers – New Meter Accuracies – Low, Intermediate and High Flow Rates

Tested

Why do we use these meters?

• Analyzing the industry studies of metering technologies has shown that the positive displacement measuring element is the most accurate instrument marketed

• This technology allows CMUD to have confidence in the recorded consumption and submit accurate bills to customers


#1 #2 #3


Which do you prefer?

What is next?...2012-2014

• Currently CMUD is in a RFI/RFP process to obtain more information for the future of our metering system

• Using the 40-Point Plan as a road map, we will continue to strive to implement new and efficient methodology to our metering and billing processes

• This will allow us to further strengthen our customer partnerships, thereby instilling confidence to our infrastructure and business practices


RFI Solution Questions 1) Customer – Assurance that CMUD’s customer would have easy access to monitor and

manage water usage

2) Cost – A system that has the most responsible total cost of ownership

3) Data Access – Ease of use for data analysis and reporting

4) Terms and Conditions/Service Provider Relationship – Defined commitment to share risk and accountability

5) Technology – Integrated, flexible and scalable solution that adheres to City standards and is feature-rich

6) Reliability – A system that is accurate and dependable in field conditions to support a trustworthy billing process

7) Ease of Use – Intuitive system for all users

8) Migration – Lifecycle management approach that allows timely and affordable strategic transitions

9) Configurable and Compatible – Reporting and user interface

10) Gallons and not CCF – Reporting usage in gallons instead of the current hundred cubic feet (CCF) is desirable

11) Accessibility – Reporting consumption to a future web portal or similar online interface, along with compatible methods to access data internally at CMUD


• 2009 to 2011

– 40-Point Plan development - Improvements made!

– Visits to other utilities including Durham, Clayton County Georgia, Chesterfield, SC, etc.

• 2011 to 2012

– Internal Stakeholder meetings; Pilot Studies of Available Technology

– Meter Route/Billing Cycle Re-sequencing – begin analysis

– RFI and initial Upgrade Program vision development

– Issue RFI - May 2012 (8 Responses)

– Vendor presentations - July 2012 to Dec 2012 (5 Demos)

• 2013

– More research

– January to March – develop meter requirements

– February – internal presentation of research/seminar

– March to June – develop technology requirements

– April – presentation at Technology Summit

– May – first draft of scope of services

– Issue RFP to begin Selection Process - Summer 2013

– Current contracts end - December 2013


Topics Included:

• Metering and Water Resource Management

• Conservation Impacts

• Non-Revenue Water

• Laws

• Working with other Utilities

• Case Studies

• CMUD metering today

• Potential metering strategies of the future

• Quality Assurance and Performance Management

• Questions

Water Metering Upgrade Program Seminar Day

• 2009 to 2011

– 40-Point Plan development - Improvements made!

– Visits to other utilities including Durham, Clayton County Georgia, Chesterfield, SC, etc.

• 2011 to 2012

– Internal Stakeholder meetings; Pilot Studies of Available Technology

– Meter Route/Billing Cycle Re-sequencing – begin analysis

– RFI and initial Upgrade Program vision development

– Issue RFI - May 2012 (8 Responses)

– Vendor presentations - July 2012 to Dec 2012 (5 Demos)

• 2013

– More research

– January to March – develop meter requirements

– February – internal presentation of research/seminar

– March to June – develop technology requirements

– April – presentation at Technology Summit

– May – first draft of scope of services

– Issue RFP to begin Selection Process - Summer 2013

– Current contracts end - December 2013


What does the future look like?

Metering Strategies–Future State

Key Drivers & Inhibitors

• Historical performance of our current system

• The need for faster and more efficient meter readings, leak detection, faster reporting of consumption data

• Reductions in field visits, enhanced customer service

• High costs, prolonged return on investment, availability of infrastructure

• Undeveloped technology


Measuring Reliability

• Ongoing meter audits from random sampling

• Field investigations when meter readings fail validation

• Performance measures to be developed from current state baseline


Technology Integration

• Challenge of maintaining new and existing technologies AMR vs. AMI (How to interface /Advantage)

• New technologies lend to more integration between multiple systems (SCADA, Web portals, Advantage CIS, Service Suite


Water Bills… What are the possibilities?


0102030405060

Ccf

Water Usage for 13 Months

02/05/13 02/25/13

$0.00 $545.98

$545.98

123456789 Dec 31 900 Jan 31 956 56 31

$66.98 66.98

281.96

241.92

4.81

6.92

10.37

0.00

545.98

545.98

01/05/13 – 02/05/13 = 33 Days.

704-555-5555

02/25/13

02/05/13

$545.98

Joe Schmoe

12345 Alphabet Street Charlotte, NC 28202


12345-123456

12345-123456

123-456-78

123-456-78

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

Ccf

LEAK ALERT - Jan 22nd

0102030405060

Ccf

Water Usage for 13 Months

02/05/13 02/25/13

$0.00 $545.98

$545.98

123456789 Dec 31 900 Jan 31 956 56 31

$66.98 66.98

281.96

241.92

4.81

6.92

10.37

0.00

545.98

545.98

01/05/13 – 02/05/13 = 33 Days.

704-555-5555

02/25/13 02/05/13

$545.98

Joe Schmoe



12345-123456

12345-123456

123-456-78

123-456-78

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1-Jan 8-Jan 15-Jan 22-Jan 29-Jan

Ccf

January 2013 Consumption

Your usage indicates that a leak may be present at your

location. Please see the charts below for more information.

Current Services Bill-Bill of Future

Current bill Sheena.pdf

futuristic bill Sheena.pdf

Customer Service Division Mission Statement “We commit to provide quality and responsive customer care through

seamless account management delivered by knowledgeable and valued employees"

Thank you

Steve Miller (704) 399-2221

[email protected]

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