Liberty Lake’s Itron to unveil smart water meter

Itron Inc. has developed a water meter that can provide two-way communication about water use to utilities and individual customers.

The Itron Intelis water meter will be unveiled next week at the American Water Works Association conference in Las Vegas. The meter will hit the North American market later this year.

Itron, based in Liberty Lake, ships more than 13 million water meters each year. More than 80 percent of utilities are interested in investing in smart water meters, with a preference for two-way communication about water use, according to an Itron news release.

The new meter uses data to track flow patterns at the meter level, company officials said. Real-time alarms and flow data, coupled with other Itron technology, will allow utilities to respond quickly to back flows, leaks or theft of water.

For customers, the meters can be set up to alert them when their water use exceeds predetermined levels.