What is Aquastar?

Aquastar is Cary's innovative, advanced meter infrastructure system that replaced monthly manual meter reads with a wireless system that collects multiple remote meter reads per day. The new, state-of-the-art meters were installed in 2011, some of which are reaching the end of service life.  Cary’s staff are monitoring the meter population and replacing aging and malfunctioning meters as quickly as possible. Learn more about the ongoing water meter replacement work.

Meters

The water meters contain a transmitter that communicates usage and data via wireless technology directly to the Town. This improves the effectiveness of the Town’s meter reading and customer service operations while enhancing the overall quality of service to utility customers.

Thanks to its advanced technology and backup systems in the field, the new system provides accurate, timely water use data regardless of weather conditions or power outages.

1. Allows for better leak detection and faster response
2. Reduces the cost of customer service operations, including special meter reads 
3. Reduces customer service call volume, particularly related to meter readings, estimates and high bill concerns
4. Reduces carbon emissions by taking meter readers off the road (in one year, 10 meter readers drove 71,000 miles and used 7,000 gallons of fuel)
5. Reduces the amount of unaccounted water loss due to theft or inaccurate meters
6. Allows us to evaluate Town-wide compliance with irrigation ordinances
7. Increases billable revenues, accurately records consumption, and reduces unaccounted for water loss
8. Provides accurate, useful information for forecasting, facilities planning, rate setting, infiltration and exfiltration management.

Visit the DigiPay & Aquastar site now!

1. Set up an account by choosing "Register Now."  Fill out the form provided including the email address that you would like the Town to use to communicate with you. 

2. Add your utility account. You’ll need the account number found in the top right section of your bill. Select the tab at the top labeled “Accounts” and then “Add an Account.” Be sure to include the dash!

3. Decide if you only want to receive your bills electronically. DigiPay provides up to 12 months of your utility bills and will send you an e-mail alert when your bill is due. To select paperless billing, check the box.

4. Select the “Add” button and you’re done! Start using DigiPay by choosing the “Bills” tab and viewing your current bill.

Please Note:

• Payments applied after 4pm will be updated the next business day. For these payments, the balance shown on DigiPay will update within 48 business hours.

• Due Dates displayed on the line with the current balance are for the most current bill. Any past due balances are subject to nonpayment and late fees as well as possible disconnection.

• If services are disrupted and payment is made through DigiPay, please contact our office for restoral of services and any additional fees that may apply. 

• If changing your payment processing from bank draft to schedule payments in DigiPay, please contact our office to stop your bank draft.

• Any E-Checks returned for uncollected or insufficient funds will be charged the state maximum allowable returned check fee. If the customer does not replace the check with cash, money order, certified check or credit card and pay all applicable charges, service is subject to disconnection for nonpayment. 

Questions?  In Cary dial 311 and outside of Cary dial (919) 469-4000.

System Maintenance

The Town's billing system is backed up overnight from 1 to 3 a.m. During this maintenance window, Cary utility customers will be unable to access their online accounts.

Main Page:

Aquastar’s home page is a dashboard that displays four charts: Monthly, Weekly, Daily and Hourly water usage.

The monthly chart displays 13 months of your water usage. The weekly chart displays your usage for each week of the selected month. The daily shows your usage for the selected week, and the hourly chart shows your usage for the selected day of the week. Drill down into each of these charts by clicking on them. By doing this, the corresponding charts will change to display usage for your new selected date range.

Learn more about water usage graphs.

Each of the graphs displays the usage in gallons along the vertical or y-axis, and the time period along the horizontal or x-axis. If you are interested in the actual gallons for any of the bars, just hover your mouse over the bar and the time period and usage in gallons will be displayed.

Customers that have more than one meter set up on their account – this is most common for customers that have both a water meter for their house, and a separate irrigation meter -- can change the focus of the charts they are looking at by selecting the meter they wish to view in the upper right portion of the title bar. If you only have one meter this drop down will not be displayed.

Navigation

At the top of the Web portal, navigation tabs give you options to view your data in graphs or tables and provide links to help you understand your usage, create alerts, learn more about Aquastar, and manage your account.

Your Water Use – Graphs
This tab gives you the ability to return to the main dashboard, as well as the choice to view your usage graphically by month, week, day and hour. Additionally, you can compare your daily usage to the high and low temperature and precipitation for the day. Get details on water usage graphs.

Your Water Use – Tables
This tab gives you the ability to view your usage in a tabular form by month, week, day and hour. You can also download your data to Excel. Get more details about water use tables.

Take Action
This tab is designed to help you analyze your usage data. The "compare, conserve, and catch leaks" options will direct you to the water conservation portion of the Town’s website. The "create alerts" section allows email usage alerts to be set up. "Contact us" allows a quick way to contact the Town regarding either billing or water use reduction questions.

About Aquastar
This tab has two links: One goes to these instructions, available in both paper and video format, and the other to the Aquastar project page where you can learn the history behind the Aquastar project.

Manage Your Account
This final tab has information on how to set up usage alerts, change your email address, and view your account information.

Some customers may want to see their usage data in a tabular format. To view data this way, all you need to do is select one of the options from the “Your Water Use-Tables” tab. Each of these tables shows your usage data summarized by month, week, day or hour depending on your preference.

If you choose to view the Water Usage by Month table, selecting one of the months will take you to the Water Usage by Week table. Likewise, selecting one of the weeks on the table will open the Water Usage by Day table. Selecting one of the days will open the Water Usage by Hour table.

If you have a particular date range you want to view, you can select the range in either the weekly, daily or hourly charts. Enter the range in the search box at the top of the page, either using the format mm/dd/yyyy, or select a date from the pop up calendar.

Exporting Data
If you wish to export your consumption data to Microsoft Excel, or another program capable of displaying a .csv file, navigate to the table you wish to export (month, week, day or hour) and click on the green spreadsheet picture just above the table. This will open a dialogue box asking if you want to open the table for viewing or if you want to save the table. Selecting "open" will open the default spreadsheet program on your computer (such as Excel) and create a spreadsheet that you can use for water usage analysis or save for future reference.

Setting alerts to monitor your water usage is easy. Just choose from the following options: "Tiered Alerts" or "Daily Alerts by Gallon." Then get started.

Options

In Cary, we have a tiered rate structure with inclining block rates. That means at certain thresholds any water used over that amount becomes more expensive. Residential water users can set an alert that will send them an e-mail when they move into the next tier. Once enabled, users will be alerted at the 5,000, 8,000 and over 23,000 gallon threshold during the billing period.

Another option is to set up a daily alert. This alert will notify you if your account exceeds your desired number of gallons in a day. While this alert is not real-time, meaning the alert won't be sent at the exact moment you exceed the amount you selected, it will show you had a day with higher usage then your preset number.

Instructions

To add a new alert: 

• Next to Alert Type, choose from the drop-down menu Gallon Alert or Tiered Alert.
• If Gallon Alert, enter Daily Gallon Threshold.
• Click the round button next to the Email Address text box and enter an email. Repeat step to add up to 5 email addresses.
• Click the Add Alert button.

To make a change to the alert (Gallon/Tiered):

• Make desired changes to the alert
• Select existing email address(es) from the drop-down menus. To add a new email address, click the round button next to another Email Address text box and enter new email.
• Click the Update Alert button.