New York's water utility awarded Aclara a $68.3 million contract in July 2008 to fit its roughly 831,000 metered properties with low-power radio transmitters that report readings four times a day to rooftop receivers. DEP had installed more than 820,000 by 2012 and says estimated bills fell nearly 60 percent that fiscal year; the network sent 47,787 leak alerts in 2025. A 2013 Comptroller audit found the radio data accurate and secure but the meters underneath often not, with 17,094 accounts still billed on estimates. DEP began replacing the first-generation devices in December 2024, and some customers are estimated again while they wait.
Estimated bills down nearly 60% in fiscal 2012; 47,787 leak alerts issued in 2025, preventing roughly 1.7 billion gallons of waste (DEP figures)
🎓 Lesson
Automating the read does not fix the meter. The Comptroller found the radio layer accurate and secure while worn mechanical meters underneath kept producing bad bills — and the transmitters themselves needed wholesale replacement after about fifteen years.
Evidence🏛️ Official
Scale🏙️ City-wide
Cost$68.3M (2008 Aclara installation contract)
Sources
↗ NYC DEP — AMR contract award (press release 08-17, 23 July 2008)Supports the award date, Aclara as vendor, the $68 million value, approximately 831,000 metered points, the roughly three-year installation schedule, and the network design: low-power radio transmitters sending readings to rooftop receivers, tied into the city wireless network NYCWiN. Also states the stated goals of eliminating estimated bills and giving early warning of leaks.
↗ NYC DEP — AMR installation and leak notification progress (press release 12-95, 2012)Supports substantial completion and the operator-reported results: 'DEP has installed AMR devices for more than 820,000 of the agency's 835,000 ratepayers'; 'In Fiscal Year 2012 estimated bills were down nearly 60%'; 31,600 leak notices sent, roughly $26 million saved; 232,000 customers registered on My DEP Account. Self-reported figures, not independently audited.
↗ CBS New York — Protest Held At City Hall Over NYC Water Bills (28 February 2012)Supports the contemporaneous billing controversy: a City Hall protest over bills that rose sharply after AMR installation, with Councilman David Greenfield quoted, 'People can't afford to have their water bill go from $3,000 to $10,000 overnight.' DEP responded that the readers are accurate. Press account only; no quantified error rate is established here.
↗ NYC DEP — Fix a Leak Week release (press release 26-003, 16 March 2026)The currency check and the source for the 2025 impact figures: 'In 2025, DEP issued 47,787 leak alerts' that helped prevent approximately 1.7 billion gallons of wasted water, more than $29 million in potential savings. Confirms My DEP Account and leak alerts are still operating in 2026, and that 230,000 of the 600,000+ devices have been replaced.
↗ The Rockaway Times — New Yorkers Face Estimated Water Bills as They Await Meter Upgrades (23 January 2025)Supports the return of estimated billing during the device swap, including DEP's own statement that 'If an estimated bill is found to be incorrect — once an actual read of the meter is obtained, the bill will be adjusted up or down as appropriate.' Local weekly; the claim that every meter in the five boroughs needs a battery replacement is attributed to call-centre staff and was not confirmed by DEP, so it is not used in the entry.
📎 Cite this project
1001 Smart Cities (2026). “NYC Automated Water Meter Reading Network” — New York City, United States. The Smart City Atlas. https://1001smartcities.org/projects/nyc-amr-water-metering/ (last verified 2026-07-26). Data: CC BY 4.0.
The underlying data is free to reuse with attribution — see the open data page.
