In Niagara Falls, it is mandatory for all property owners to have a water meter installed on any service pipe that delivers water into a building. ![meter]()
As of 2019, the City of Niagara Falls embarked on a Capital project to upgrade all water meters to new automated water meters in every home and business.
The new meters allow us to:
- Collect water usage reports more frequently, allowing us to share that information with residents as requested
- Eliminates the need for manual readings by residents and/or staff
- Provide a more accurate and efficient way to administer water usage throughout the City
Where to find the water meter & how it works
Water meters are typically located in the basement, along the front wall where your main service line enters the home. Other common places include basement washrooms, laundry rooms, or utility/furnace rooms.
Water meters contain a disk that revolves inside a chamber, much like an odometer on your car. As the water passes through, the disk turns to track your water use in cubic meters. There are 1,000 liters per cubic meter. A typical household will use 10 cubic meters per person a month, depending on usage trends, if you believe your usage is trending high, you may wish to look for a private plumbing leak. See our leak investigation pamphlet.
About our new Water Meters
The City of Niagara Falls uses Neptune ProCoder Registers and R900 Endpoint units. The ProCoder is the register that records consumption and is wired out to the R900 transmitter which is installed outside the home. The R900 is the endpoint unit, also known as the transmitter. The transmitter sends water use information directly to a secure data collection unit for billing and administration purposes.
Important facts on transmitters:
- Meter reads are sent out every hour to the data collection unit
- Each transmission is 0.25 seconds in length. Once a reading is sent, the transmitters turn off
- Transmitters only transmit the water meter serial number and consumption data, no other data
- Transmitters run on a battery which is meant to last up to 20 years. If the battery dies, or there are any troubles obtaining meter readings the City of Niagara Falls Water & Wastewater Services division will contact you for maintenance
- R900 wireless communication equipment operates within the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band which includes frequencies from 902 MHz to 928 MHz
- The Food and Drug Administration and the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health have classified radiation emitted by devices operating at these RF frequencies as “non-ionizing”. Other types of non-ionizing radiation devices include televisions, radios, remote controls, and other devices that use visible light and infrared light.
For more information, see this product sheet.
Water Meter Exchange Program
The City-Wide Water Meter Exchange Program commenced in late 2019 and was facilitated in partnership with Neptune Technology Group. That program has since ended and the remaining water meter exchanges are being managed through the Water & Wastewater Services Operational division. If you have received a letter requesting that you schedule an appointment for this work, please reach out to [email protected] or ext. 6235. Failure to comply with this request may result in a refusal rate applied to the associated water bill, per by-law 2016-108.
Requesting a new, larger, or smaller water meter
- New meters associated with a new residential build are covered under your building permit. Provide a copy of the permit and receipt to [email protected] staff will coordinate the release within 2 weeks of receipt
- If the meter is not covered within the permit and/or receipt, the requester must email [email protected] with supporting engineered mechanical drawings that identify the incoming water line, the size and the location of the water meter
- Requesting a larger or smaller water meter size for a property that is already metered requires the submission of a formal application. The application must be accompanied with process payment, per the schedule of fees, this fee is currently $125.00.
