Council will begin rollout of the second phase of the Smart Water Meter project in January 2023.
The $24 million project will entail the replacement of about 55,000 existing mechanical meters with new, smart water meters (SWM), that will enable customers to track their water use, and identify potential property leakages.
Council completed phase 1 of the Smart Water Meter project in December 2019, which included installation of almost 700 devices across Palm Cove and development of a communications network for over a large portion of the Cairns area.
Since the smart meters were installed, Council has identified over 120 leaks, saving approximately 50 megalitres of water.
Phase 2 of the project was due to commence in June 2020 but was deferred in May 2020 until 2022/23 as part of Council’s response to the COVID‑19 pandemic.
Council has committed to recommencing the project, with the installation of 5,000 smart water meters in the first six months of 2023.
It is expected the roll out of all smart water meters and the completion of the communication system including the customer portal will be installed by July 2026.
