Sabesp sai na frente com hidrômetro inteligente… e o Rio fica no relógio da média

While many people still struggle with the bill that comes "in fright", there in São Paulo water is starting to enter the digital age. Sabesp announced the installation of smart water meters to measure consumption in real time, end billing by average and give more transparency to the bill.

Translating into the popular: if you spent 10, you pay 10. If you spent 5, you pay 5. No guess, no "artistic estimate", no surprise at the end of the month.

Now let's talk about our backyard.

In Rio and Greater Rio, the people are well aware of the so-called average charge. The water does not fall into the tap, but the bill falls into the mailbox. There are neighborhoods in the Baixada that spend more time waiting for water than using it. There is a lack of supply, a lack of pressure, a lack of regularity. There is no shortage of bills.

It's almost urban poetry: there's a water meter, but there's no water. And even so, the bill arrives punctual, firm, strong and corrected.

Meanwhile, in the capital, the situation is different. The city of Rio still has the "privilege" of not suffering as much from constant shortages as many municipalities in the Baixada Fluminense. It is a contrast that the resident perceives in practice, in the routine, in the bucket and in the water tank.

With an intelligent water meter, such as the model implemented by Sabesp, the conversation changes. The device sends the data automatically, detects leaks, avoids reading errors and reduces that old excuse of the average. Transparency becomes the rule, not the exception.

Now imagine this working here.

Imagine the bill coming exactly for what was consumed. Imagine not paying for water that didn't arrive. Imagine being able to monitor consumption on your cell phone. Does it seem like something out of this world? In São Paulo it is already becoming a reality.

And that's where the inevitable comparison comes in.

On the one hand, modernization, technology and real-time measurement.
On the other, residents complaining about a full bill and a dry tap.

If such an intelligent system were really implemented in Rio, a lot of the bill would have to be reviewed. And here is the irony: would some concessionaires be able to live only on what was actually consumed?

Because when the measurement is accurate, the margin of the "creative average" ends.

At the end of the day, the smart water meter is not a luxury. It is justice. It is respect for the consumer. It is basic modernity. It is saving water and also patience.

The question remains that echoes in the Baixada, in Greater Rio and in the buildings of the capital:
If it can be done in São Paulo, why is it still so difficult here?

The people don't want miracles. They want water in the tap and a fair bill on the table.

Simple as that.

By: Journalist Arinos Monge.