Fulton County proposes pilot to remotely read 6,000 water meters to reduce billing errors

Fulton County public-works officials on June 17 outlined a phased plan to activate advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) for water billing, beginning with a pilot that would bring approximately 6,000 already-installed AMI-capable meters online.

David Clark, the county’s public-works director, said the county has about 80,000 water meters systemwide of which roughly 37,000 are AMI-capable from prior purchases. Clark recommended installing two collectors (likely on Alpharetta and Jones Bridge water-tower sites), updating vendor software licensing, and activating reads for roughly 6,000 meters in the pilot area. He estimated the one-time cost for that phase at about $45,000 (approximately $10,000 for collectors and $35,000 for software/license modifications) and noted a projected annual saving of about $83,000 on avoided manual meter reads.

Clark described the phased approach as fiscally prudent: earlier procurement attempts for immediate countywide conversion produced either no viable vendor or metering-as-a-service proposals with high termination fees. He said broader conversion of 31,000 additional AMI-capable meters could require $1–3 million, and converting the remaining roughly 42,000 manual-read meters could range from about $36–42 million—numbers the county may address through a future rate study or bond sale.

Commissioners asked operational questions: how customers could access usage data and leak alerts, the number of towers available for collectors (nine tank locations), and timing. Clark said the pilot could launch as soon as this summer or early fall and that wider rollout could be accelerated depending on results and available funding.

The board approved related budget items elsewhere on the agenda; no final action to obligate the larger conversion was taken at this meeting. County staff said they would include AMI options in the upcoming 2027 rate study.