Ratepayer dollars already in the coffers of Dubbo Regional Council will be used to fund its $5 million rollout of smart water meters.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The project's funding will come from the council's "water and sewage budget".
"Council will be accessing budgeted funds from the approved water budget accumulated from rates to roll out this upgrade of the ageing water meter infrastructure," chief executive officer (CEO) Michael McMahon said.
READ ALSO:
The $5 million is higher than figures provided to the state government by the council when it pitched for a grant in 2019.
It asked the government for a 50 per cent contribution to either the $3.27 million cost of installing "clip-on devices to existing connections" or the $4.54 million cost of "full meter replacement".
The council has selected Taggle Systems to carry out the work across six to eight months, from a yet-to-be-announced date.
Taggle Systems will use three different smart meters which can be viewed at www.dubbo.nsw.gov.au .
The rollout will affect about 17,700 residential and 2300 non-residential properties connected to reticulated water.
"The full rollout plan is still in the planning stage," Mr McMahon said.
"The rollout of the smart meter will cost approximately $5 million which will include the online platform residents can use to monitor their own water usage.
"This project is a planned and budgeted for upgrade of ageing infrastructure and will be fully funded through the council's water and sewage budget."
The council owns the meters on the properties subject to the rollout.
It has dismissed earlier community disquiet about its so-called "big brother" move.
The new and battery-run smart meters will detect dials rotating and transmit readings through a small radio signal for storage in a database managed by the council.
