Are the new water meters to blame for frozen, bursting pipes?
Parts of the city are a leaking frozen mess, but DPW says the cold, not the meters, is the culprit
Above: Ice from a leaking water meter (now fixed) at corner of Covington and Gittings streets in South Baltimore.
It’s a sunny 11 degrees and water is leaking, flowing and freezing on streets all over the city.
Suffering through the coldest Baltimore winter in recent memory, residents of Medfield, Hamilton, Reservoir Hill, Fells Point and Canton have filed panicky 311 complaints:
“2-3 inches of ice. Cars are spinning out onto the sidewalk.”
“Water leaking from a crack in the pavement.”
“Street has bulged up and water is shooting out!”
“No water in house, no evidence of frozen pipes indoors. Possible frozen water meter?”
The city has fielded more than 1,000 water service calls since the cold snap started about a week ago, and if Cityview’s 311 map is any indication, DPW is still in the thick of it.
New Meters the Culprit?
Baltimoreans with frozen pipes, no water, or glaciers forming in their alleys are wondering if, possibly, the new water meters are to blame.
They are referring to the 30,000 new “smart” water meters, installed in Pimlico and Mount Vernon in the fall and more recently in parts of South Baltimore and West Baltimore.
Jeffrey Raymond, spokesman for the Department of Public Works, says: no.
The problems that residents are having are due to the cold temperatures alone, according to Raymond.
“The older meters also broke if the water in them froze,” he says. “We do not believe the new meters are especially prone to failure.”
The new meters are expected by the city to be installed and operational by spring 2016.
The Board of Estimates awarded Itron $83.5 million to install them and Itineris North America $8.3 million to upgrade the city’s water billing software to be compatible. Itineris will also provide 10 years of technical support.
A Reading Every Hour
Officials say the new meters should, if anything, make tracking leaks easier. They will be monitored continuously, according to Jennifer Ludwig, DPW special projects coordinator.
“One reading [will be taken] of every meter every hour of every day,” Ludwig said during a “Baltimeter” presentation at the mayor’s monthly luncheon last month.
In theory, at least, this means that when there are future freezes, DPW will know about leaking water lines before their customers do.
For now, though, if you need to report a leak or water problem (and you’re in good company), call 311.