Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Smart Meter Pilot Program

• Access to daily water usage through EyeOnWater, a user-friendly portal
• Ability to receive leak/high water-usage alerts
• Monthly billing for better budgeting
• Enhanced meter reading accuracy
• Safer work environment for our employees
• Reduction of our carbon footprint

• Your first bill from the new meter will arrive around April 10-17, 2026.
• Your bill will include readings from both your old and new meters, located on page 2 under "My Meter Reading Details."
• Your final quarterly bill may cover more than 90 days due to the extended billing period.
• Flexible payment plans are available.
• No late fees will be charged during pilot.
• Concerned about a change in your billing cycle? Adjust your E-Z Pay/Auto-Pay or call us at 301-206-4001.
• Following your final quarterly bill, you will be billed monthly (approximately every 26-34 days).
• This is a year-long pilot and will end in spring 2027.
• What happens next? We’ll be asking for your feedback throughout the pilot, and we’ll share next steps once the pilot concludes.

AMI Smart Meters use secure, encrypted technology to wirelessly share water-usage information with WSSC Water. This information enhances the customer experience and optimizes operations. For the Smart Meter Pilot, the meters will send data using cellular technology.

Being part of this pilot is an exciting opportunity to experience the benefits of Smart Meter technology, including monthly billing and leak alerts, and to provide WSSC Water with valuable feedback that will help guide future decisions. Most customers in the pilot will receive a new water meter and transmitter that will allow for monthly billing (meters installed after 2023 may not need replacement). Conversion to Smart Meter technology is FREE. WSSC Water will actively seek customer input throughout the pilot.

Meter and transmitter installations for pilot customers begin in late December 2025 and are expected to continue through March 2026, weather permitting. The year-long pilot will conclude in spring 2027.

Based on customer feedback during the pilot, WSSC Water will seek approval from its Board of Commissioners to fully deploy AMI Smart Meters to all customers. If approved, customers in the pilot will continue receiving the benefits of this technology, including monthly billing. If full-deployment approval is not granted, customers in the pilot continue with monthly billing via a different technology – Automated Meter Reading (AMR).

Approximately 3,400 residential customers are participating in the pilot. The group includes income-constrained customers, four challenging manual meter-read routes* (two in Prince George’s and two in Montgomery counties), two municipal routes (two in each county), as well as volunteers and employees who submitted interest forms. The pilot group represents a wide cross-section of the meter population, including both indoor and outdoor meters, submeters, a broad geographic service area, and a range of meter ages. All pilot customers are given the option NOT to participate. In addition, 360 sites within Prince George’s and Montgomery County Public Schools are included in the pilot.

*Routes that are physically demanding on meter readers and have accessibility issues that can cause delays in meter reading, resulting in estimated bills for customers.

All customers selected for the pilot will receive letters in the mail informing them of their participation. 

For those with outside meters, this notification letter will be sent about one week before installation, and signs will be posted throughout these neighborhoods as we convert customers to AMI Smart Meter technology. After installation, a door hanger will provide information on next steps. 

Customers with inside meters will receive a letter explaining that a team member will call to schedule the meter replacement and transmitter installation, and technicians will provide next steps at the time of service. 

All residential pilot installations are expected between late December 2025 and March 2026, weather permitting. WSSC Water communicated with the county school systems in fall 2025 and installations were completed in December 2025.

Yes. Customers on quarterly billing selected for the pilot will switch to monthly billing. Remember: Conversion to Smart Meter technology is FREE.

The following is a list of additional important information:

• Your first bill from the new meter will arrive around April 10-17, 2026.
• This first bill will include readings from both your old and new meter.
• Your final quarterly bill may cover more than 90 days due to the extended billing period.
• Flexible payment plans are available.
• No late fees will be charged during pilot.
• Concerned about a change in your billing cycle? Adjust your E-Z Pay/Auto-Pay or call us.
• Following your final quarterly bill, you will be billed monthly (approximately every 26-34 days).

• Wait two business days after installation before creating your EyeOnWater account (your account won’t appear until then). 
• Sign up at https://eyeonwater.com/signup or download the app from the App Store or Google Play. 
• Have your WSSC Water account number handy. You can use our account lookup tool if you can't find your account number.  

Need assistance? Virtual help sessions are available. (Need to add info or link to that section on the smart-pilot page)

Yes, please complete our opt-out form to let us know you do not want to participate in this pilot.

No. AMI Smart Meters use non-ionizing radio frequencies (RF) to communicate water usage information. According to the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society, this type of RF is low frequency and low energy, which means it's too low to damage DNA.  

Approved by the Federal Communications Commission, this type of RF is commonly used in cell phones, TV remotes, Wi-Fi, baby and medical monitors, garage-door openers and Bluetooth devices. RF also exists naturally in our environment due to the sun’s interaction with our atmosphere. Smart Meters give off very low levels of RF waves - less than cell phones or microwave ovens. The signal can be compared to a cellular text message.

Yes. Like many other utilities that have already implemented AMI Smart Meters, WSSC Water is relying on the analysis and research on the health effects of non-ionizing RF by leading scientific and government agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the California Council on Science & Technology, American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute.  

Yes. The Maryland Public Service Commission has approved AMI Smart Meter technology for electric utilities BGE, PEPCO, Delmarva Power and Light, SMECO and Choptank Electric Cooperative.  

Baltimore City, DC Water, and Loudoun Water use this technology for their water meter networks.  

The City of Rockville plans to update their drive-by AMR water meter network to AMI Smart Meter technology. Fairfax Water is scheduled to start an AMI Smart Meter pilot this summer. Anne Arundel County is scheduled for a mass deployment of AMI Smart Meter technology for their water meters in early 2027. 

No. AMI Smart Meters do not transmit RF signals continuously. These meters can be programmed to transmit water usage data at specific times. Typically, AMI Smart Meters transmit information approximately four to six times per day, with each transmission lasting just seconds at a time.  

WSSC Water will use Badger* meter technology for its AMI Smart Meter Pilot program – expected to launch in early 2026. This equipment will transmit data up to four times per day on weekdays and once per day on weekends via a secure cellular network. As mentioned in the previous FAQ, each transmission takes just seconds. Meter information and usage data will be encrypted using industry processes before being transmitted to WSSC Water. Personal, identifiable information is not transmitted to or from the meter.  

* The use of Badger meter technology during the AMI Smart Meter Pilot does not tie WSSC Water to Badger or any single vendor if the decision is made to engage in a full smart meter deployment in the future.  

Meters equipped with drive-by, AMR technology are transmitting water usage data via RF signals approximately every four to six seconds. 

Background: Approximately 6% of WSSC Water meters are equipped with AMR. This technology has been in use since 2005. Instead of a meter reader walking meter to meter to obtain a reading, a meter reader can get the information while driving past the meters. Using RF, a device in the meter reader’s vehicle picks up a signal sent from the equipped meter to capture the reading. However, the meter does not know when the reading will be taken and therefore is transmitting an RF signal every four to six seconds. 

We are happy to answer all your questions regarding our AMI Smart Meter Pilot. Please contact us at smartpilot@wsscwater.com or call us at 301-206-4001, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.