By Rebecca Gold Rubin
The “WaterSmart” Customer Portal is now available!
As water metering technology continues to advance, the District is staying on the cutting edge by implementing the latest tools for our customers, giving you more control over your water use, billing, leak detection, and other tools.
With this user-friendly, self-service web portal you can get email, text, or phone alerts about potential water leaks in your system — you’ll be better able to find and fix that leak before it becomes a bigger problem. You’ll also have the capability to set customized water use and bill amount thresholds.
With those in place, you’ll receive alerts when your water use or your bill amount reaches your desired thresholds, giving you the data you need to maintain the most efficient water use possible. That means less wasted water, less potential water damage, and fewer surprises in your water bills. You will also be able to see your current bill and bill history and pay online or set up pay by text.
The portal will also help you see how much water your irrigation system uses, identify water-saving opportunities, access conservation resources such as rebate program applications and waterwise landscaping ideas. Its easy-to-use online bill payment function allows you to both monitor your usage and pay your bill with a single log-in.
The District’s previous generation of automated metering technology sent the water use information to a receiver in a District truck, which had to drive through your neighborhood once a month.
Now, the latest electronic tools give us that information more easily, and much more frequently. The end result? Saving you water and money!
Our i-Meter upgrade is funded by new development as part of our Water Demand Offset (WDO) program, saving our ratepayers money. This program requires that new developments offset their projected water demand by funding new conservation or supply projects elsewhere in the District to make sure there is no increase in overall demand on the overdrafted groundwater basin. In addition to i-Meters, WDO fees have funded other water-saving programs, like rebates on the installation of thousands of ultra-high efficiency toilets.
Water conservation is a crucial component of ensuring we have a sustainable groundwater basin. At the same time, to provide our customers with a reliable water supply today and into the future, we are pursuing new sources of water that can be used to replenish the overdrafted groundwater basin and stop seawater contamination of our water supply. Pure Water Soquel is the key project aimed at providing the quantities of water needed to raise the groundwater to protective levels. Learn more at soquelcreekwater.org/purewatersoquel.
Tracking your water use and your billing trends will be much easier with i-Meters and the WaterSmart Customer Portal. We’re thrilled to be providing you with the latest technology, giving you the tools you need to save water, support sustainability of the groundwater basin, have better control over your water use billing, and save money.
WaterSmart Software has more than 4 million meters under management across over 120 water utility partners and is recognized as the self-service and customer engagement platform leader for the water industry.
Water providers using WaterSmart’s portal have been proven to reduce costs, improve operational efficiency, and increase customer satisfaction by more than 25%. WaterSmart is a winner of the globally coveted World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers Award for their potential to “significantly impact business and society through the design, development and implementation of new technologies and innovation.”
•••
Register today for the WaterSmart Customer Portal at soquelcreekwd.watersmart.com. Your registration code is your billing account number. Please take this opportunity to make sure we have your current email address on file, as that’s an important tool in the i-Meter functionality. Call us at 831-475-8500, or email us at custserv@soquelcreekwater.org to update your information.