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The San Bernardino Municipal Water Department (SBMWD) recently announced it has been selected to receive a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grant program.
The grant will fund Phase I of SBMWD’s Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project which will install data communication infrastructure, upgrade 7,500 water meters to smart metering technology, and connect over one quarter of the Department’s total water meters to an advanced metering network.
The AMI project will save water with more timely correction of leaks and notification of abnormal consumption patterns, and by providing access to real-time water use data through a new customer engagement portal. Resulting water savings will offset water pumped from San Bernardino’s primary water source, the Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin, and help limit reliance on imported water supplies to recharge the basin.
“The system upgrades accomplished through the AMI project will allow SBMWD to increase operational efficiencies, save water, and provide better services to the Department’s customers. The Department is proud to be one of the applicants selected for funding through the Bureau’s WaterSMART grant,” said Miguel Guerrero, SBMWD General Manager. “Deployment of the advanced metering network supports the many actions SBMWD is taking to ensure sustainability of our local water supplies.”
As of July 2021, Reclamation has selected 125 projects to be funded with $64.6 million in WaterSMART funding. For more information, visit https://www.usbr.gov/watersmart/weeg/index.html.
