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WaterSmart Info



Important WaterSmart Information for Our AGRICULTURAL Customers

VCMWD IS PARTNERING WITH WATERSMART TO PROVIDE WATER CUSTOMERS ACCESS TO THEIR WATER USE INFORMATION ONLINE 24/7!

In these challenging times, the Valley Center Municipal Water District (VCMWD or “the District”), remains committed to helping customers save water and money with our new online “WaterSmart” customer portal. WaterSmart is an innovative method to increase water consumption awareness among customers. The new upgrade brings many benefits to water customers including obtaining highly accurate water use, providing water use and billing transparency, and allows customers to view water use, enroll in leak and predicted high bill alerts and more. By improving the efficiency of your water use, you benefit from smaller water bills and a more reliable long-term water supply.

The WaterSmart portal is the final piece of the District’s Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project that started 3 years ago, completing the District’s effort to bring meter reading and monitoring technology up to date. WaterSmart has been used by many retail water agencies here in San Diego County and provides customers many new features, including:

  • More options setting online billing, automatic withdrawals, as well as other forms of payment like Venmo, PayPal, and more;
  • Real-time access to individual water accounts to see usage at 1-hour intervals provided by our new AMI Meters (usage history/trends);
  • Access to water conservation information resources, tips, and rebates for conservation equipment;
  • Obtain information on how to detect and find leaks in your private plumbing system; WaterSmart can even help customers determine if they might have a slow, but steady leak which can run-up monthly water bills quickly; and
  • Customizable notifications – receive automatic real-time text or email leak alerts, sent when WaterSmart detects unusually high usage for sustained periods of time.

All of these system features are available to all customers at no extra cost. Customer’s don’t need to do anything to maintain water service with the District, but if you want access to the above listed features be sure to enroll in the District’s FREE WaterSmart customer portal. Access to the portal will allow customers to manage water use, pay water bills online, and will provide real-time 24/7 water use information.

The WaterSmart is LIVE! Keep an eye out for more detailed information coming soon by mail and e-mail (if you have a current e-mail address on file with us). We encourage YOU to take a look at WaterSmart and all the customer service benefits. This service is part of VCMWD’s commitment to provide customers with the best tools to manage your water use and water bill; but don’t forget, the District will always be here to assist customers when in need.

 

WaterSmart Frequently Asked Questions…

How do I Register?

Registration is easy, in just three steps: 

  • Log on to https://valleycentermwd.watersmart.com
  • Enter your VCMWD water utility account number and your service zip code, then click “Find my Account” (please note, you will need to create a new login, this is different from your previous bill pay).
  • Personalize your account by completing the user profile.

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    What is GPD?

    Gallons Per Day. Your water use is presented in the number of gallons used per day because it’s typically the easiest unit for people to envision and provides the best metric for comparison. Other common but less easily understood measures of water consumption are Gallons Per Capita Per Day (GPCD), Units or CCF (both equal to 748 gallons).

    Does WaterSmart cost me anything extra?

    All of these system features are available to all customers at no extra cost. Customers don’t need to do anything to maintain water service with the District, but if you want access to the above listed features be sure to enroll in the District’s FREE WaterSmart customer portal. Access to the portal will allow customers to manage water use, pay water bill online, and will provide real-time 24/7 water use information.

    Why Can’t I See My Hourly Usage?

    There may be a few reasons:

    • If you are viewing on a mobile devise, you will be unable to see hourly data, or
    • Occasionally there will be a disruption in your water data. These gaps happen when your water usage information transmitted from your AMI meter is not received by the District’s fixed network infrastructure to be sent to WaterSmart. This may be due to a hilly terrain, a temporary issue with the District’s AMI meter system, or due to periodic obstructions (like a car parked over the meter). If the reception has been spotty for your service, you may be unable to see your hourly or daily usage. Once reception quality improves, access to hourly and daily usage will be restored. (Please note that this does not affect your water usage for billing; the meter will continue to record accurate water reads during this data interruption and will transmit that data when it is next able to).

    Is my water usage data in real-time?

    The data you see is “near-real-time.”  Data is transmitted to WaterSmart twice per day and usually takes a few hours to process and show on your account.  You should be able to see data from the prior 12-hour time frame.

    How does WaterSmart detect leaks?

    WaterSmart’s Leak Detection algorithm detects a variety of leak types. Continuous leaks are characterized by continuing water use over an extended period of time, such as from a leaking faucet or toilet. Burst leaks are characterized by a large amount of water use over a shorter period of time. Non-AMI leaks, which are based on billed consumption, are characterized by use that is higher than usual for that particular customer.

     

    What alerts and notifications can I receive?

    WaterSmart provides the following features to alert and notify Single-Family Residential customers of unusual or high water usage. 

    • "Continuous Leak" alerts notify residents when there is continuous water usage.  

      o   For Single Family Residential (SFR) customers, alerts will be automatically sent out from WaterSmart if the meter registers continuous usage of 15 gallons per hour for at least 48 hours.

      o   For commercial customers, alerts will be automatically sent out from WaterSmart if the meter registers continuous usage of 10 gallons per hour for at least 48 hours.

      o   Agricultural customers will need to set up their own property specific leak alert notifications through the Water Smart portal. 

       

    • “Burst Leak” alerts notify residents when there is a burst amount of water usage. For Single Family Residential (SFR) customers, burst alerts will be automatically sent out from WaterSmart if the meter registers a burst of usage of 150 gallons per hour for at least 8 hours.
    • Daily use notifications notify customers when water usage is higher than the normal seasonal use for the account. Customers can set the threshold to be 1x-5x typical seasonal use.
    • Bill forecast notifications notify customers if usage in the current period is on track to exceed the typical water consumption charge for that season. Customers can set the threshold to be 1x-5x typical seasonal use.
    • Unplanned use notifications notify customers if usage in any given day exceeds the numerical threshold set by the customer. The default is zero gallons.
    • Other important announcements from the District.

    Alerts and notifications can be through   email,     text, and/or   voice message.

    I received a high usage alert in an email. What does it mean?

    WaterSmart will automatically send a high usage alert email if your water usage on a given day is higher than typical for the season (2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x) depending on your Communication Preferences).  Common causes of higher than expected usage in the summer is outdoor irrigation, filling a pool, or even doing  several loads of laundry in one day. Visit the WaterSmart Portal to log into your account and view your hourly usage to see if any unusual or unintended water usage occurred.  You can make changes to these alerts at any time.  Simply visit your WaterSmart account and then click on “Settings” and click on “Communication Preferences” in the Portal.