December 17, 2014, (BALTIMORE) — The Baltimore City Department of Public Works announced today that it is beginning a full rollout of its new water meter and billing upgrade program, known as BaltiMeter, in Baltimore City and Baltimore County.

“We are confident that these much-needed water meter upgrades will allow our customers to know exactly how much water they are using. In addition, the new automated meters will eliminate estimated billing for water and sewer services,” said DPW Director Rudolph S. Chow, P.E.

Automated meters eliminate the need for technicians to manually read each meter. These new meters wirelessly transmit precise water usage information to devices that upload that data to a central billing office.

Installations of meters will begin December 18 in some neighborhoods west and south of the central business district in Baltimore City. During these installations, water will be turned off for less than an hour. Door hangtags and street signs will be posted to notify customers of installations. In addition, customers will be notified by a knock on the door before the water is turned off. Meter installers will not need to enter customers’ homes.

Only commercial customers will receive a letter directing them to contact 311 to schedule an appointment for their meter upgrade. This is to minimize the impact to their business caused by a water disruption.

As part of the first phase of BaltiMeter, 9,357 automated water meters have been installed to date in Baltimore City and County. New meters were installed in the City’s Mount Vernon and Pimlico neighborhoods and in the Bowleys Quarters area in Baltimore County. Commercial water customers in these areas who have not scheduled their appointment for the meter upgrade are urged to contact 311 or 410-396-5352 to schedule the upgrade.

By April 2016 the BaltiMeter project is expected to be completed in Baltimore City, where some 203,000 meters will be installed. Another 204,000 will be installed in the County by April 2017. Baltimore City DPW provides water and sanitary sewer service to customers in both jurisdictions.