XPost: rec.arts.comics.strips   
   From: YourName@YourISP.com   
      
   On 2025-10-28 15:46:35 +0000, Paul S Person said:   
   > On Tue, 28 Oct 2025 18:45:48 +1300, Your Name    
   > wrote:   
   >> On 2025-10-28 00:08:37 +0000, Your Name said:   
   >>> On 2025-10-27 23:27:42 +0000, Bobbie Sellers said:   
   >>>> On 10/27/25 16:05, Scott Lurndal wrote:   
   >>>>> Your Name  writes:   
   >>>>>> On 2025-10-27 15:36:44 +0000, Paul S Person said:   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> This is unlikely to happen with water meters -- at least here --   
   >>>>>>> because they are mostly buried in the ground and getting a wireless   
   >>>>>>> signal out might be difficult.   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> Most water meters here are in boxes* in the garden (for houses anyway).   
   >>>>>> The boxes have an easily removeable lid so the meter reader can quickly   
   >>>>>> access them to read the dial numbers. Technically it should be   
   >>>>>> relatively easy to either have a cellular / wi-fi meter that can   
   >>>>>> connect.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> Technically, such radio device would require power, something that is   
   >>>>> not generally present at the water company valve box.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> 	Easily if expensively remedied with a inline turbine to generate the   
   >>>> power to deal with the radio device.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> 	bliss   
   >>>   
   >>> Or simply a wire from the house mains supply, appropriately lowered   
   >>> for>> the smart meters' power requirement of course. Power and water   
   >>> services>> (along with ye olde landline phone) are often fairly close   
   >>> together>> anyway to save on digging multiple trenches.   
   >>   
   >> Or, even easier, just put the smart meter inside the house where   
   >> the>mains supply enters the building. (External garden taps might be   
   >> a>problem if the pipes branch off befoer entering the house.)   
   >   
   > Up here, that would rather confuse the distinction between "City   
   > Utilities' responsibility" and "homeowner's/landlord's"   
   > responsibility.   
   >   
   > Then again, there /is/ a simple shut-down where the water enters our   
   > house. For use when needed, obviously.   
      
   The houses around here have two shut-off points - one in the water   
   meter box and another where water pipe enters the house (usually behind   
   a panel in the garage's external wall). That's how we were able to out   
   our leak was somewhere in the short pipe between the meter and the   
   house, and not inside the house itself.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)