California Water Officials Use Smart Meters To Catch McDonald's, Other Water Wasters In Real Time
LONG BEACH (CBS SF) -- A Southern California city is cracking down on water wasters with a new tool in light of recent water restrictions issued by Gov. Jerry Brown to fight the drought.
The Long Beach water department is using smart meters to get data on illegal watering in real time.
They've helped cut back some homeowner's and businesses' use, like a McDonald's that was seen blasting sprinklers and pooling water in the drive-thru until a smart meter was installed.
"It collects the data every five minutes, then after midnight the cell phone that's built in here comes on, makes one call and calls it in to the database that we and the customer through a password security system have online access to their consumption," said Kevin Wattier with the Long Beach Water Department.
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The smart meter could eventually be used in businesses and home to track water waste across Southern California.
This comes one week after Governor Brown has directed the State Water Resources Control Board to implement mandatory water reductions of 25 percent in cities and towns across the state. The executive order also calls on local water agencies to adjust their rate structures to implement conservation pricing.