486 Meter Optimization: Air in the water with Anthony Giudice

Water meters register the volume passing through them, but what happens when that volume contains both water and entrained air? Anthony Giudice, president of AquaFlow, explains how turbulent flow can influence meter readings and how AquaFlow's calibrated valve is designed to help meters reflect what he describes as true water consumption.

Why Flow Conditions Matter at the Meter

Anthony connects entrained air to the pressure required to move municipal water and the turbulence created as water travels through piping, changes direction, and encounters shifting demand. Because a conventional meter cannot distinguish between water and air within that volume, he says the resulting air-water mixture can contribute to overreading.

The valve addresses the condition from the customer's side of the property. Installed immediately after the meter, it creates a slight backpressure intended to establish laminar flow upstream while compressing the entrained air rather than removing it from the system.

Calibration, Placement, and System Conditions

Each valve is calibrated for its specific meter and operating environment. Anthony explains why valves cannot simply be exchanged between meters of the same size and describes a dual-spring design that responds to changing pressure throughout the day.

Available sizes range from three-quarter inch to 32 inches, supporting applications from residential service to power plants, data centers, manufacturing facilities, and cooling tower systems. Trace and Anthony also examine an important secondary-metering question: where should a valve be installed when cooling tower makeup and bleed meters affect water and sewer billing credits?

The answer depends on the measurement objective. Teams must first identify which meter they want to optimize and how any downstream reading affects utility calculations or sewer credits.

Measuring Results Beyond the Utility Bill

A lower invoice alone does not prove that a valve is performing. Facility activity may change substantially from one billing period to another.

Anthony recommends a measurement and verification reconciliation using 12 clean pre-installation months, the installation month, and at least three clean post-installation months. Consumption should then be normalized against an operating unit such as cars washed, hotel guests, or stadium attendance.

A car wash example demonstrates the distinction. Recorded consumption changed from 16.03 gallons per car before installation to 13.13 gallons per car afterward. That per-unit comparison provided a clearer performance indicator than the total bill, which could rise or fall with the number of vehicles served.