Madison Water Utility moves forward with more shut-offs

Madison Water Utility has recently shut off water service to 19 homes - four of which appear to be occupied - because property owners have not responded to our repeated requests to upgrade their water meters. These customers were first notified last summer about the city-wide installation of our new Project H2O water meter reading system, and installers have knocked on their doors and left informational materials many times since. Over the last two weeks, Madison Water Utility has issued repeated disconnection notices to each of these property owners warning that water would be shut-off if an installation appointment was not scheduled. More than 5,600 other customers will soon be receiving urgent notices asking them to schedule and complete required installation appointments within the next ten days. If you get an urgent notice or notice of disconnection, call the number listed in your letter to schedule an appointment. Customers who have not received notices but would like to schedule appointments can call (866) 706-6189. It's important to note that the water meter inside your home is actually owned by Madison Water Utility, and we must be able to access it in order to complete our required infrastructure upgrade. Even if you choose to pay a monthly fee and opt-out of the Project H2O wireless meter reading system, an appointment must still be scheduled so we can convert the meter in your home to read gallons instead of cubic feet (ccf). So far, the Project H2O advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system has been installed in more than 53,000 homes, apartments and businesses across Madison. Project H2O allows the Water Utility to receive frequently updated usage data, helping us spot large leaks and plumbing problems - some 200 residential customers have been alerted to major water leaks so far thanks to Project H2O. Eventually, customers will be able to track their day-to-day usage online and receive bills on a monthly basis instead of semi-annually. As we all work to build a more sustainable future, Madison Water Utility believes Project H2O will give us and our customers the information we need to help conserve one of Madison's most precious resources. "When the well's dry, we know the worth of water." - Benjamin Franklin

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