Colorado utility improves efficiency, conservation and customer awareness

In Colorado, as in much of the West, water is a precious and scarce commodity. That’s why East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation District (ECCV) has made a commitment to keep conservation in mind when monitoring and metering water use.

Cellular-enabled devices and monitoring software have improved ECCV’s ability to detect leaks and system irregularities. Meter reading data is delivered securely, in 15-minute intervals directly to a software dashboard to drive real-time decision making without sending utility staff into the field to collect reads.

"We're at the very top of the watershed," explained Rick Clark, ECCV's Senior Engineering Advisor. “So, we're very conscious about how much water gets produced, used and paid for."

With a long history of metering excellence, ECCV has relied on Badger Meter products since the 1970s to serve the more than 60,000 residents that call the area home. Today, their adoption of multiple technologies from the BlueEdge suite, including BEACON Software as a Service and the EyeOnWater customer engagement tool, is helping the utility stay ahead of the curve in water management and conservation.

“We really like the detailed amount of data we can get using the BEACON system versus just monthly readings,” Clark said, explaining how the software enables ECCV to analyze water use trends by customer class, pressure zone, and individual accounts. This helps the utility validate that water production aligns with usage and allows them to maintain a low non-revenue water rate, one which is consistently below the state-recommended 6 percent.

Moving Beyond the Meter The data also enhances ECCV’s ability to detect leaks and irregularities at a system level. In prototype zones with full deployment, daily comparisons between production and consumption reveal minor losses and flag unusual activity, such as hydrant flushing or unauthorized use.

“We’ve had the district running for almost two years now, and I can tell from the charts what day we did hydrant flushing in April,” Clark said. “Thirty or forty years ago, we’d have given our eye teeth for a system that could tell us any of this!” he added.

These insights also reduce the need for field visits. By catching leaks remotely, ECCV’s customer service and field teams can operate more efficiently. “It has really helped the field team to have someone looking at [the software dashboard] all the time,” said Laura Coutu, ECCV’s Water Efficiency Specialist. “We’ve been able to really work together to cut down on unnecessary visits.”

Furthermore, ECCV now collects most meter reads in just a few days each month, a major improvement over the time- and labor-intensive process of the past. “They used to read two or three days a week every week to get all the reads in the old system,” Clark said. "We read only about three days a month now."

ECCV has also seen major improvements in customer engagement. With EyeOnWater, customers can track consumption patterns in near real time. Clark recalled an early success story when the consumer engagement platform and application was first rolled out to ECCV employees as a test.

“We had one employee who, within a week of getting a meter, had gone out of town. The whole time they were gone, we were looking at [their usage data in the app] and saying, ‘There's something going on over there.’” As it turned out, there was a running toilet in the home. Fortunately, the issue was spotted before it became a big surprise on their water bill.

Translating Data into Meaningful Action Coutu plays a pivotal role in translating meter reading data into meaningful customer interactions — and with access to real-time data, it's become much easier to troubleshoot with customers. “It’s so nice to be able to go in and actually tell them what [is going on],” she said. Rather than fielding vague concerns about high water bills — which were previously impossible to diagnose with just one monthly read — Coutu can now use BEACON to pinpoint continuous use patterns, unexpected spikes, and water-wasting irrigation schedules. “That’s my favorite thing — to be able to tell somebody, 'I can see what’s going on here by the hour,’” she said.

This real-time data visibility helps customer service staff shift conversations from confrontational to collaborative. Coutu said it's incredibly impactful "to have that information to share with them and teach them how to look at it." With the consumer engagement application, customers can view their hourly water usage, set alerts, identify problems, and make informed water consumption changes — all on their own. The feedback from customers has been very positive, she noted. "They're super grateful to know about [a problem] before they have to pay a giant bill."

ECCV’s Water System: Driven by Data With BlueEdge from Badger Meter, ECCV has created a more responsive, data-driven, and transparent water system — one where customers are empowered to manage their usage and where utility staff can proactively address issues before they become emergencies.

“Every drop counts," Clark noted. And, as water grows more precious, ECCV’s longstanding commitment to advanced metering is paying dividends — for the utility, the environment, and every customer they serve.