Questions and answers

This depends on the age and compatibility of your water meter. A transmitter may be installed alone or as part of a water meter replacement. However, to inspect the meter at a minimum, access to the water meter is required for all appointments.

Water meters are being upgraded to improve accuracy, reliability, and customer service. Most water meters have a typical service life of 10 to 20 years, and like all mechanical devices, their performance can decline over time.

Upgrading to newer technology ensures that water usage is measured more accurately and consistently. New meters also:

• Reduce the need for manual readings and in-person visits
• Support timely and reliable billing
• Help identify unusual water use sooner (such as potential leaks)
• Provide improved service and tools for customers over time

Replacing older meters helps ensure the City can continue to deliver fair, accurate, and efficient water billing services.

The City is responsible for the cost of the new meter and installation.

Under the City of Brantford Municipal Code, Chapter 650, Water Service Connection By-law, it is mandatory to participate in this program. If you have a specific concern or question about the water meter upgrade program contact the City’s Customer Service by calling 519-756-1360.

For customers who request not to participate in the water meter upgrade program, Council approved a manual meter reading option as an alternative accommodation. This option reflects the additional operational costs required to maintain manual servicing where remote reading is not available. The WT.95 Manual Water Meter Read Fee is the alternative to the upgrade which was approved by Council on June 24 2025.

https://calendar.brantford.ca/meetings/Detail/2025-06-03-1800-Committee-of-the-Whole-Operations

https://calendar.brantford.ca/meetings/Detail/2025-06-24-1800-City-Council

https://www.brantford.ca/Modules/Bylaws/Bylaw/Download/fbffe56f-df1b-45e1-9aca-04fcfab8a633

Customer-submitted readings (such as photographs or phone-in readings) are not accepted for billing purposes, as they cannot be independently verified. To ensure accurate, consistent, and fair billing for all customers, the City relies on readings collected through its approved metering systems and established processes.

The water meter upgrade offers many customer service benefits:

• The City’s online web portal provides access to hourly usage information with alerts for detection of leaks and unexpected high usage
• Reduces estimated bills
• Improves meter accuracy
• Eliminates the need for a technician to access your property to read the meter manually

Every authorized technician can be identified by:

• KTI uniform with City issued ID badge
• Vehicles with the KTI Utility Services name and logo
• KTI will not ask for any form of payment from customers

The installation typically requires 30 to 90 minutes to complete.

If a leak were to happen, it would typically occur within the first 24 hours following the installation. Property owners are encouraged to check their meter and contact City of Brantford if a problem is detected at 519-756-1360.

For concerns related to booking an appointment or installation of a new water meteror if you have a specific concern or question about the water meter upgrade program contact the City’s Customer Service by calling 519-756-1360.

The levels of radio frequency emitted by the new meter technology are lower than those of common household devices, such as Wi-Fi routers and cell phones, making it safe and compliant with Health Canada's guidelines for radio frequency exposure limits.

The water meters located inside homes do not contain a radio transmitter device. Α separate radio transmitter will be connected to the water meter by copper wire and typically attached to the outside of the building. The levels of radio frequency emitted by the radio transmitter technology are lower than those of common household devices, such as Wi-Fi routers, baby monitors and 3G cell phones; the new transmitter has approximately 1/l0th the transmission power of a cell phone and transmits for less than sίχ seconds per day.

Sensus' solution is designed to be below the FCC Minimum Permissible Emissions (ΜΡΕ) and compliant with Canada Safety Code 6.

For technical specifications including RF power output, please refer to the manufacturers website which can be found at the below link:

www.xylem.com/en-us/solutions/communication-networks/understanding-rf-and-smart-meters/  

https://www.xylem.com/en-ca/products--services/telemetry-communications--data-transfer/end-point/smartpoint-gm-industrial-transceiver/

For further information on this question, please contact Sensus' customer service staff -you can call 1-800-638-3748 or refer to: www.xylem.com/en-us/brands/sensus/resources/customer-service/

The City collects personal information in order to manage utility billing. This includes sending bills, notifying you of rate changes, discontinuing services, and disclosing account information to registered property owners or collections agencies if the account is past due. The collection of your information is in accordance with Sections 11 and 398 of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25.

Questions about the collection of your personal information can be directed to the City by calling 519-756-1360.

The City of Brantford has established a dedicated network using licensed spectrum (Sensus FlexNet) which does not use any established home network hardware or software configuration.  

 Sensus' solution supports robust end to end encryption across the entire system using secure logins, role-based authentication and unique device security keys available only to authorized personnel.

The water meters installed located inside homes under the Water Meter Upgrade Project cannot communicate wirelessly with any device. The water meter communicates with the radio transmitter and the transmitter communicates directly with the City’s software via Sensus FlexNet.

The AMI system collects water consumption data and system status information for billing and operational purposes only. The data is:

• Water consumption information: This includes the volume of water that passes through the meter over time, which is required to calculate utility bills.
• Meter identification information: Each water meter and transmitter has a unique identification number that allows readings to be correctly associated with the appropriate customer account.
• Meter status and operational information: This may include information such as battery status, communication confirmation, or system alerts (for example, leak indicators or communication failures) to support accurate billing and system maintenance.
• Historical meter readings stored on the device: The meter retains a limited history of readings to allow recovery of data in the event of temporary communication interruptions.
• Not sold or shared with third parties
• Secured through encrypted transmission, role based access, and authenticated devices
• All collection and use of information is conducted in accordance with the Municipal Act, 2001 and applicable privacy legislation.

Water meter readings are collected monthly for internal operational and system validation purposes. Customer bills, however, are issued on a bi‑monthly billing cycle. Any readings taken between billing cycles are stored in the City’s Customer Information System and combined to calculate the bi‑monthly bill, rather than being shown as separate line items on the invoice.

Monthly reads allow staff to confirm accuracy and validation:

•  Identify abnormal usage sooner (leaks, stuck meters, zero reads).
• Validate meter performance before two months of usage accumulates.
• Reduce large correction adjustments that would otherwise appear on a bill.

Even though customers receive one bill every two months, the usage shown on that bill:

• Is based on actual meter readings taken at regular monthly intervals, allowing staff to confirm billing accuracy and identify unusual consumption.

Monthly usage data supports:

• Early outreach when consumption spikes.
• Better explanations to customers about usage trends.
• Fewer disputes caused by long, unchecked billing periods.