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6 <br />AMI Feasibility Report I Client Name: City of Santa Ana <br />NEPTUNE <br />1,957 <br />PRECISION <br />5,246 <br />ROCKWELL <br />3,100 <br />I SENSUS <br />'938- <br />UNKNOWN <br />19 <br />2" <br />1675 <br />A large portion of the Cit/,s manual -read water meters are over 10 years old. City Staff replaces <br />about 1,500 meters each year under the meter replacement program. Table 4 provides details of <br />the meters by size. Majority of the meters are 3/4" and 5/8" size used mainly for residential use. <br />Table 4 Meter Numbers By Size <br />�rnaw:w7r�� <br />�P1n�71:fi7gigP104� <br />3/4" <br />5462 <br />5/8" - -- - <br />- -- - <br />--- 31387 ... <br />- - --- <br />1 <br />- -- <br />4139 <br />11/2" <br />1401 - - - --- -- - . <br />2" <br />1675 <br />3" <br />320 <br />4" <br />146 <br />6" <br />35 <br />TOTAL <br />144,565 <br />Some of the meters in service, and certainly those purchased more recently, should be able to be <br />retrofitted with meter transmission units (MTUs) to work on any of the leading AMI vendor <br />solutions. The determining factor as to which of the meters will need to be replaced is a <br />combination of age or a performance-based business decision rather than a lack of interoperability. <br />Assuming that the AMI project would take approximately 3 years from initiation to completion of <br />meter installation, Black & Veatch normally recommends that a utility replace all meters that were <br />installed more than 10 years ago. This is a minimum replacement criterion, and other reasons can <br />drive a larger replacement. Since 2006, approximately 6,826 new meters were installed by City. The <br />remaining 37,739 meters are more than 10 years old. Figure 1 shows details of the meters installed <br />by year. The data shows that almost half of the meter population is over 15 years old. <br />Black & Veatch routinely recommends the previously mentioned 10 year rule because the AMI <br />MTUs are expected to have a functional life of 15 years - given battery expectations and the <br />evolution of technology solutions, a useful life in excess of 15 years is not to be reasonably expected. <br />Actual studies performed by utilities support this 15 year optimal life cycle. With most 5/8 inch <br />positive displacement meters beginning to exhibit unacceptable accuracy reductions in the range of <br />25 years, using the 10 year rule for the water meter bodies results in a harmonization of the two life <br />25G-124 <br />