What to know
- Toronto will replace all 470,000 water meter transmission units starting in April, completing about 20,000 installations per month through December 2028.
- About 70 per cent of MTUs have already failed, leading to water billings that were not up-to-date. All units are expected to fail by September.
- Homeowners will receive mailed notices from contractor Neptune Technology Group to book a free 20–30 minute appointment and must provide access to their water meter during the scheduled visit.
The City of Toronto is launching a program to replace all of its roughly 470,000 water meter transmission units (MTUs), after 70 per cent of them were found to be failing.
In order to restore accurate and timely water billings, the city is going to start replacing all of its MTUs as of April. The replacement program is expected to cost $103 million, which will come fully from the city budget, and is expected to be completed by December 2028.
The city expects to complete about 20,000 installations per month, moving through the city by geographical zones, which will be prioritized based on failure rates, amount of time on estimated billing, and volume of accounts in the area.
What are MTUs?
Water meters, which are tools that track and record water usage, are still working, according to the city. The MTUs are devices used to transmit this data to the city, which are the tools that have been failing.
The tools currently used in the city were last installed between 2009 and 2015 as part of a city-wide effort to upgrade its Water Meter Program to an automated system.
While they were originally meant to last 20 years, the city says about 70 per cent of MTUs across the city have already been failing, while all of them are expected to fail by September.
With the failures, the MTUs are no longer transmitting real-time data to the city, instead relying on estimated bills based on properties’ water use history.
According to the city, Toronto is not the only municipality in North America that is facing issues with the new system. Cities in New Brunswick, California, Florida, and Massachusetts are also facing early failures.
Despite the issues, the city says adopting an automated process for water estimates has saved it about $350 million in operating costs since its first installations in 2009, as well as improved overall efficiency.
What do residents have to do?
Residents will need to take action in order to support the MTU replacement process.
Replacements will take place between April 2026 and September 2028, and residents can check out when their zone is scheduled for work at the Water MTU Replacement Program webpage.
The city will also be mailing letters to residents advising that contractor Neptune Technology Group will arrive at their zone about two to three months before the service is carried out.
Once their zone is scheduled for replacement, residents will:
- Receive a mailed letter from Neptune Technology Group when their appointment booking opens, which will be about two to four weeks before the scheduled date;
- Book the appointment following the instructions in the letter;
- Ensure access to the water meter and MTU is available for workers to complete the service;
- Arrange for someone who is 18 years old or older to be present for the appointment;
- Ensure pets are secured during the service.
According to the city, replacement appointments should take about 20–30 minutes and residents will not need to pay any separate charges for installation.
What does the replacement mean for water billing?
With most MTUs in the city currently failing, residents are being billed on estimated water use rather than actual meter readings.
According to the city, the system will continue running on estimation until the MTUs are replaced or until they submit actual meter readings.
After the replacement, residents can expect their bills to be adjusted within four to six weeks to reflect their actual water usage instead of estimates.
“The City understands that billing adjustments can be concerning. Customers should know that even if their MTU has stopped working, the water meter itself continues to accurately record water use. When the City receives an actual reading, the bill will be updated to reflect the amount of water used – and customers will only be charged for the water they actually used,” the city said in a statement.
Those who require support are advised to call 311.
