Website allows customers to track water use online

Nearly all Hot Springs Municipal Utilities water customers can now keep track of their water usage online.

The web-based Water Meter Customer Portal, which can be accessed at http://www.cityhs. net, allows anytime secure viewing of water usage by customers on the municipal system, the city said Friday in a news release.

A city spokeswoman said Friday all customers are included with the exception of those in the Royal Water improvement District, who will have that access once the 2018 meter replacement program is complete, as proposed in the 2018 city budget.

Customers can monitor current usage, set usage alerts and view usage history and trends, the release said.

“We’ve been diligently working to roll out this customer feature in order to provide greater convenience to our customers,” Municipal Customer Operations Director Randy Outler said.

“You’ll now be able to see your usage from hour to hour. The data transmitted to us from the city’s advanced AMI (automated metering infrastructure) system allows us to share a high level of detail with the customer.”

The portal offers customers the opportunity for potential early leak detection if an abnormal amount of usage is indicated. The customer can also set usage thresholds and receive a text or email alert if that threshold is exceeded. The customer can set vacation or winter status on the portal account whereby they, or another caretaker they designate, can receive alerts if usage is de-

tected or a threshold is met, the release said.

Customers with numerous meters, such as landlords and large businesses, can look at multiple accounts from a single logon.

To set up a portal account, click on the rotating photo portal at the bottom of the city’s home page, or choose the MCO page under Departments.

Call Customer Service at 501321-6880 for more information. The spokeswoman said the water system’s homepage,

http://www.cityhs.net/154/Municipal-Customer-Operations, includes a link to frequently asked questions that were created to make the setup easier for customers. “It lists the simple steps to creating a portal account, along with what usage details the customer can access through the portal,” she said.