Itron to Modernize Water Infrastructure in Arkansas with Smart Meter Migration

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. — April 5, 2018 — Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), a world-leading technology and services company dedicated to the resourceful use of energy and water, is working with the City of Fort Smith, Arkansas to modernize its water infrastructure with Itron’s OpenWay® Riva smart water solution over the next two years. Itron’s advanced water communication modules will be deployed to replace the City of Fort Smith’s aging water infrastructure, nearly half of which have exceeded normal life expectancy. The city will also gain access to daily and hourly interval data for increased billing accuracy, decreased operational expense and enhanced customer service.

Seeking to become more operationally efficient, Fort Smith will use Itron’s OpenWay Riva technology to upgrade its aging infrastructure. The city will install water communication modules and new meters to improve meter reading efficiency and lower operational costs. The modules will give the utility access to detailed meter data to gain better visibility into its operations. The modules also give Fort Smith the flexibility to automate meter reading today and prepare for tomorrow with the ability to expand the system to include a multi-purpose network for smart water and smart city applications.  

“With Itron’s solution, we will be able to streamline operational processes, reduce costs and enhance water usage visibility with detailed meter data,” said Danny Kelley, supervisor of metering at the City of Fort Smith. “Itron’s experience in the water industry, focus on customer needs and continuous drive to create solutions that address key challenges in the industry gives us confidence in this solution.”    

“With Itron, Fort Smith will take advantage of mobile data collection to improve reliability for its customers today with the opportunity to easily migrate to a multi-purpose network to support smart utility and city applications in the future,” said Gavin van Tonder, president of Itron's Water business line. “We are excited to work with the City of Fort Smith to improve water infrastructure to provide safer, more efficient water delivery to customers.”