The City of Orillia has launched a new online customer portal that will make managing water usage as easy as turning on the tap for customers.
The Water Usage Customer Portal is available to Orillia residents and businesses that have a water and sewer billing account with the City of Orillia. The portal allows customers to monitor their water usage, understand current and previous billing, and optimize water conservation through real-time water usage monitoring. The portal also allows customers to customize alerts that notify them of water consumption, which can help identify potential problems such as leaking toilets and taps.
“The City of Orillia continues to implement innovative technology to make our operations more efficient and enhance the customer experience of our residents,” said Mayor Steve Clarke. “The Water Usage Customer Portal is leading-edge technology that provides real-time, personalized information about household water usage that enables you to make better informed decisions on water consumption and identifies potential plumbing problems before they become a costly issue.”
Customers can sign-up for this free portal here or under the Online Services tab on the city’s homepage.
In 2018, Orillia Council approved a project to automate the city’s water meter reading process, whereby readings would be attained automatically, removing the need for contracted services to obtain the readings. Transmitters attached to a customer’s home or building relay water consumption data through a wireless communications platform and are received by the city’s water utility’s database.
A further benefit to this automated system is the elimination of estimated water billing. Previously, the city billed residential customers quarterly based on reading meters twice per year and estimating usage per year on an alternating cycle. Now residential readings are actual readings on a quarterly basis with no estimated billing.
“Implementing this water meter infrastructure provides significant efficiencies, including real-time water meter reading and billing, improved maintenance response, and management of the water meter assets,” said Andrew Schell, director of environmental services and operations department. “The advanced water meter technology and customer-friendly Water Usage Customer Portal is yet another way Orillia continues to implement smart technology to do business.”
For assistance or technical questions regarding the Water Usage Customer Portal, contact Jason Micallef, superintendent of metering and backflow prevention, at 705-325-2326.
