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SMART Water Meter

George Municipality continues to improve customer service delivery while reducing costly water losses, with the installation of over 2000 SMART  water meters in the Blanco, Bos en Dal, Heather Park, Heatherlands, Groeneweide Park, Dormehlsdrift and George South areas.

The existing water meters have reached their end of life and need to be replaced to ensure accurate meter readings and detection of water leaks within the homeowner’s property. Challenges experienced by the George Municipality in the past with the original meters included unreliable billing data, infrequent and inconsistent account invoices and delivery, extended collection cycles and debit accumulation, inaccurate reporting of household’s consumption, vandalism, no access, excessive leaking and wastages.

The SMART Water meters which have an expected 15-year constant accuracy lifespan enable a multitude of benefits for both George Municipality and its citizens:

  • The smart water meters are not pre-paid and will not disconnect  a consumer’s water supply.
  • The meter reading and billing cycle is automated.
  • Daily water usage and trend analysis can be monitored,
  • and importantly leak and burst alarm notifications enable consumers to better control and manage their water consumption.
  • The SMART water meters also enable George Municipality to react faster to water losses and provide a holistic view of the city’s water usage.

Residents will have access to the Ontec George Home Page http://george.ontec.co.za to track their own daily water consumption, respond to leakage alerts and manage multiple meters in one space. As the resident you will receive high usage warnings via SMS and Email enabling you to act immediately. The near real-time consumption allows you to understand exactly where and when you are using water right now.

PROCESS OF INSTALLATION 

  • Homeowners will be issued a pre-installation notice and contacted by the installation teams should access to the property be required.
  • The excavation team will excavate to locate the old meter and pipes.
  • The excavation team is followed by the installation team who will remove the old meter and install the new SMART Water Meter. Water will be shut off to the property for 1-2 hours for this purpose.
  • The work of the installation team will be inspected by the Engineer while exposed. This will take 1-2 days.
  • The reinstatement team will backfill around the meter, pipework and restore the property to original condition.
  • The homeowner may now register their SMART Water Meter.
  • A pamphlet with detailed instructions is left at the residence for this purpose.

REGISTRATION

  • Please proceed to register your smart water meter by following this link to the SMART WATER METER Registration Page or by downloading the Ontec George Home App from Google Play Store or iStore.
  • The Ontec George Home App will guide you on the steps to be taken to register.
  • Detailed instructions are provided at time of installation on a pamphlet which is left at the home or you can follow the Five Easy Steps listed below:

REGISTER IN 5 EASY STEPS

  1. Go to george.ontec.co.za and select Customer Registration.
  2. Enter your details, read and agree to the Terms and Conditions and select the Register Button.
  3. An activation email will be sent to the email address specified.
  4. Click on the Activate my George Home Account link in the email received.
  5. Activate your Smart Water Metera) Go to My Profile > My Meters
    b) Enter the above Meter Number at Add a Meter and Search.
    c) Confirm details, complete the additional details and select ADD.

Once installed, the serial number from the new SMART water meter will be associated with your Municipal Account and will reflect at the bottom left of your account statement under the water consumption graph.  The registration process will not affect your monthly account billing.  To ensure that billing is undertaken correctly and accurately, please expect to see meter readers come through to check the SMART water meter readings during the changeover process until the integration of the billing system with the electronic meter data is complete.

George Municipality acknowledges that some residents have faced difficulties during THE implementation of the SMART water meter project and remains proactive in responding to residents’ concerns.

One of these challenges is that in the month after the installation of the SMART Water Meter, your municipal account may reflect a higher than normal level of water consumption. This is caused by the change in the meter reading interval period, from the old meter to the new meters. This issue will then stabilize in the months following thereafter. We apologize to affected consumers and request consumers to make contact with our Finance Department for assistance.

  • For queries related to the smart meter registration process please contact Ontec at 044 873 5474 or follow this link to
    the SMART WATER METER Registration Page 
  • For any queries related to meter readings and billing please contact George Municipality Financial department at 044 801 9111 or 063 699 5998 after hours or e-mail accounts@george.gov.za.
  • For complaints/compliments, please contact George Municipality at 044 801 9260/9262