A project to upgrade water meters in De Queen, Ark., is coming to an end.
The city's new automated meter reading system includes solar power displays that can be read by shining a light on the solar panel. The meters also can detect a water leak and provide a detailed report showing water usage by day or by hour.
About 2,300 water meters were replaced during the project, Mayor Billy Ray McKelvy said.
"A few meters are being swapped out for different sizes. When the correct meters are available, the contractor will be able to finish the project," McKelvy said.
The automated system has expedited the meter-reading process.
"On Sept. 1, water employees used the system to read over 1,500 meters in two and one-half hours, a process that would have taken three or four days to do manually," he said.
The receiver also can read some meters up to a half-mile away, McKelvy said.
"After the project is completely finished, the contractor and city water workers will go back over the routes to look for any problems that might not have been resolved during the installation, he said.
The report can also detect if the customer has a water leak.