Glendale Begins 3,500-Location Water-Meter Replacement Pilot

Glendale has launched a summer 2026 pilot to replace about 3,500 traditional mechanical water meters with electronic meters that use cellular connectivity. The pilot is the first phase of a planned, multi-year effort to replace the city’s remaining water meters.

The first phase does not include every Glendale water customer. Selected locations are expected to receive a postcard several weeks before their scheduled installation date.

What selected residents should expect

Most installations take about 30 minutes, according to the city and ABC15 Arizona. Residents generally do not need to be home, but the work can cause a brief interruption in water service.

Installations are scheduled Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Residents who receive a postcard should review the project information and use Glendale’s official contact channels if they need to verify the timing or have questions about the work.

The city’s contractor, Metering Services Inc., is expected to use vehicles marked with the City of Glendale logo and visible identification. Crews will not need to enter the home, according to ABC15’s report.

What the electronic meters are intended to do

The new meters will communicate through cellular technology and are designed to provide customers with more detailed water-use information through an online customer portal. The city also plans to offer alerts about possible leaks and usage trends as the system becomes available.

Those are planned capabilities of the replacement system, not a guarantee that every leak will be detected or that every customer will automatically save money. The city’s stated goal is to give customers more information about water use and make possible leaks easier to identify.

What the project means for water bills

Glendale says the water rate will not change because of the meter replacement. That statement concerns the rate associated with the replacement project; it does not guarantee that individual bills will remain the same as water use, account conditions or other applicable charges change.

What happens next

The roughly 3,500-location pilot is the beginning of a longer-term, multi-year replacement rather than a completed citywide conversion. Glendale plans to use the initial phase as part of the broader effort to replace traditional meters across the city.

Residents who receive a postcard can use Glendale’s official water-meter replacement information to confirm project details. ABC15 reported that the project team can be reached at 1-800-612-6979.

Sources

• City of Glendale water-meter replacement project page
• ABC15 Arizona report on Glendale’s water-meter pilot