Radio Frequency Emitting Wall Unit for Water Meters - Opt out

Water Meter replacement is still a mandatory project, the following form is to opt out of the wall unit model

Hudson's Public works - water division is estimating to complete the town-wide meter replacement project in Spring of 2025.

All town water meters will be Neptune models. Generally speaking the water meter assembly consists of many parts, but the main components are:

• The Neptune meter which records all water usage and stores the information.
• Wiring from the meter to a reading unit/wall unit and the grounding wire.
• A wall unit/reading unit - called the meter interface units (MIU) - typically installed outside the house- that receives the water usage information and transmits the same to the municipal meter readers using a very small radio frequency.

To summarize: water meters installed inside your home, do not emit any radio frequencies, the water meters are wired to a transmitter box / reading unit- typically installed outside your home. These reading units emit very small radio frequencies. Gas, Electric, Water and several other meters in your home / at your neighbors also may or may not emit different radio frequencies.

Important Note: The MIUs / lead wires shall not be disturbed. No one other than the water division personnel may disconnect or remove a water meter nor cut or tamper with the wire security seal.

View more Information on the Neptune T-10 Model Wall Unit Radio Emissions (PDF). RF power densities for day to day devices like cell phones / microwave ovens are also included in this document for comparison.

Several water / gas / electricity meter reading units are already installed outside our homes, and our neighboring homes and they emit similar radio frequencies in the air.

There are some cases, where the home owner would like to opt out of installing a RF emitting wall unit. Alternatively, the town of Hudson offers a touch pad wall unit system that do not have any radio emissions.

However, for the purposes of reading your water usage recorded on your meter, the municipal employee will need to physically approach your property with a touch pad reader and acquire the usage information. This will need additional staffing costs and touch pad reader equipment purchase, installation and maintenance costs, beyond the typical meter reader installed on the municipal vehicles.

Town of Hudson Select board meeting in February 2024 and March 2024, reviewed resident concerns and approved the fee-based solution to address the issue and correlated costs.

Review and fill out, the Opt-out Form (PDF) for residents who wish to install touch pads instead of the radio frequency emitting MIUs.

Water Meter replacement project is a mandatory project, It is important to note per the Hudson's water rules and regulations, the Department maintains the right of access to the premises in order to verify the consistency of the meter registration with the remote registration. The Department will, if it deems necessary, repair and/or replace damaged or faulty meters in single-family residences.

It is the property owner's responsibility to provide access to the meter at all times. No water meter must be installed in confined spaces / behind appliances / walls / floor boards.