Sean Belk
Staff Writer
The City of Signal Hill plans to install new “smart” water meters at 260 homes on the north end of the city as part of a pilot program partly funded by a federal grant obtained through a consortium of cities and water agencies in Los Angeles County.
The new meters will be able to send water-use data for billing purposes directly to the City in real time using wireless technology rather than having Signal Hill Water Department staff manually record the data in person on a monthly basis, thereby cutting costs for staff time. The technologically advanced meters will also be able to automatically alert the City of water leaks and unusually high water use, city staff said.
The Signal Hill City Council at its meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 20 voted unanimously (5-0) to enter into a “subrecipient agreement” with the Los Angeles Gateway Region Integrated Water Management Joint Powers Authority, also known as the Gateway Water Management Authority (GWMA), to accept the grant funds.
Formed in 2007 as a directive of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments (COG), the GWMA is a coalition of 24 cities, including Signal Hill, and two water agencies that cooperatively work together in participation with the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County to address water-related issues on a regional scale.
According to city staff, the GWMA was awarded a $1-million WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow) Water and Energy-Efficiency Grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for a Regional Advanced Meter Infrastructure Program.
Signal Hill is eligible to receive $41,758 of this grant to implement a smart-meter demonstration project, according to city staff. Eight other cities are also eligible to receive grant funds, including Lakewood, Vernon, Downey, South Gate, Whittier, Pico Rivera, Norwalk and Bellflower.
The grant requires that the City of Signal Hill provide a match of $65,035, making the total cost of the project $106,800. According to city staff, two thirds of the match ($44,572) will be covered by providing “in-kind services,” such as staff time to prepare bid documents and providing project oversight, while the rest of the match will be paid for through developer fees that the City has been collecting specifically for installing the smart meter-reading technology.
“The reason we want to do a demonstration project is because we’re basically in a second generation of smart meters,” said Signal Hill Deputy City Manager Charlie Honeycutt during a presentation to the Council. “So we want to test them out before we send them out citywide.”
Honeycutt noted that the City is expected to select the homes or duplexes in a 10-block perimeter that will have their standard meters replaced with smart meters. He said the new meters would come equipped with a battery that would last for 20 years.
Additionally, Honeycutt said there might be a chance for the City to apply for additional grant funds if the pilot program is successful.
“This kind of works out, because we’re at a time where we need to start almost replacing meters anyway,” he said. “If it does work out well and we like the way these meters operate and everything, there’s a potential for us to go at another round for this same type of grant to replace more meters.”
In a phone interview, Honeycutt said the smart water program may be launched either later this year or early next year.
Both Vice Mayor Larry Forester and Mayor Edward Wilson praised the Gateway Cities COG, which represents 27 cities, in its efforts to acquire grant funding. City staff noted that the GWMA has obtained approximately $17 million in grant funds since its formation while Signal Hill has received more than $3.5 million of these grants for various water- and stormwater-related projects.
“The [Gateway Cities COG], as a whole on a regional basis, has been extremely successful,” Wilson said. “It has taken a regional approach that has worked out very well for the gateway cities. Trying to do it all by ourselves as individual cities, we’re just too small, but as 27 cities together, we make a huge difference.”
The new “smart” water meter project comes as the State of California continues to experience an on-going drought that has forced cities and counties implement measures to encourage residents to conserve water.
In May 2014, Signal Hill declared a Level 1 water-shortage emergency, restricting outdoor watering to three days per week, Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, while prohibiting outdoor watering between the hours of 9am and 4pm.
During new business at the Council meeting this week, Public Works Director Steve Myrter noted that water usage in Signal Hill for October 2014 was down 10 percent compared to the same time period in 2013.
Other Council highlights
Presentations Mayor Wilson introduced Ashleigh Williams-Pearce as the new recreation coordinator for the Signal Hill Community Services Department. In addition, Wilson presented proclamations and special merit awards to various Signal Hill Police Department employees and volunteers.
Cherry Avenue widening Myrter gave an update on the status of the Cherry Avenue Widening Project. He said the City is working on receiving a new temporary traffic signal at Pacific Coast Highway and Cherry Avenue. Myrter also said traffic would be reduced to one lane in each direction from Pacific Coast Highway to 19th Street along Cherry Avenue starting in the first week of February, adding that construction would last through June. He said flashing road signs have already been installed to notify drivers of the construction and additional signs will be placed at different intersections in an effort to reroute traffic.
CDBG funds The Council voted unanimously (5-0) to approve allocating Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for public-service projects and the installation of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) rubberized surfacing at Discovery Well Park. According to a city staff report, for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015-16, the City will receive approximately $57,394 in new CDBG funds under the Los Angeles County Urban County allocation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The City has a balance of $8,558 in unallocated CDBG funds making a total of $65,952 available for FY 2015-16.
Water well contract The Council voted unanimously (5-0) to enter into a $150,000 contract with MCM Management to provide project management services for the construction of an advanced water treatment plant at Well No. 9, a groundwater well located on the City’s public works yard on 28th Street east of Cherry Avenue that has yet to be tapped. The services are being covered by the City’s Water Impact Fee Development Fund reserves, according to city staff.
The next Signal Hill City Council meeting is scheduled for 7pm on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at the Council Chamber.
This “smart” residential water meter with an “E-Coder” register by Alabama-based Neptune Technology Group, Inc. is the type of meter being considered by the City of Signal Hill, which plans to launch a pilot program to install smart water meters at 260 homes on the north end of the city.
Signal Hill Mayor Edward Wilson, second from left, and Police Capt. Chris Nunley, far left, present proclamations and awards of merit to various Signal Hill Police Department employees and volunteers during the Jan. 20 meeting of the City Council. Pictured, from left, are: Nunley, Wilson, Records Clerk Perla Perez (Excellence Award), Records Clerk Ann Govoni (Excellence Award), retired Administrative Assistant to the Chief of Police Karen Sharif (Professional Employee of the Year), Records Supervisor Tom Neinast (Excellence Award), Officer Delia Martinez (Police Officer of the Year), Officer DeAngelo Gossett (Meritorious Conduct Award-Silver) and Officer Bruce Wolfe (Lifetime Achievement Award). Award recipients not shown are Police Volunteer Gary Weinberger (Police Volunteer of the Year), Nicole Delahunt (Professional Employee of the Year) and Records Clerk Lydia Mercado (Excellence Award).
