When a lift station autodialer goes silent, nobody finds out until the overflow.
Most lift stations, pump sites and treatment facilities still call out over a copper line. It is usually the oldest copper on the account, the most expensive to keep, and the least visible when it fails.
We replace the line without touching the autodialer, the SCADA panel or the callout list. Same equipment, same numbers, one monthly line item.
Send us a recent phone bill. We will identify which lines feed which sites, which are already dead, and what replacement costs. No obligation.
Why utility sites are the worst copper on the account
Lift stations sit at the end of long runs, often in areas carriers stopped maintaining years ago. They are the lines most likely to already be degraded, and the ones carriers price hardest as they push migration.
They are also the lines nobody dials. A dead autodialer produces no symptom at all until the day it needed to call somebody.
For a public agency the consequence is not an inconvenience. It is an overflow, a reportable event, and a conversation with the state.
What we replace at these sites
Lift station autodialers. High-level, pump-fail and power-loss callouts to the on-call phone.
SCADA alarm callout lines. Where telemetry reports by voice or modem over copper.
Treatment plant alarm lines and standby generator dialers.
Remote facility lines at wells, tanks, booster stations and public works yards.
The one thing that actually complicates these jobs
Signal. Lift station controls are frequently in a below-grade vault, a concrete block enclosure, or a metal cabinet in a low spot at the edge of town. Wireless signal has to be verified at the actual location before anything is ordered.
Where signal is marginal, an external antenna run to grade solves it. Where it is genuinely absent, you find out during the audit rather than on install day. This is the single most common reason a site needs a separate quote.
Why this is an operating expense, not a capital project
Converting telemetry to a modern SCADA radio or cellular link is a capital project. Engineering, panel work, a budget cycle, a council vote, and a timeline measured in fiscal years.
Line replacement is not. Hardware, connectivity and service arrive as one recurring monthly charge against the same telecom budget the copper lines already come out of, usually for less money. That difference routinely decides whether the work happens this year or waits.
It also means the bill audit often pays for part of it. Municipal phone accounts accumulate lines against sites that were decommissioned, rebuilt or sold. Cancelling those costs nothing.
What it costs
$49 per line, per month, with white-glove installation included. Hardware, the wireless connection, the phone service and the site visit in one recurring number, with no separate installation invoice.
Quoted separately: external antennas where signal is marginal, and confined-space entry where a vault requires it.
Frequently asked questions
Will the autodialer need reprogramming?
Usually not. The numbers port over, so the dialer keeps calling the same on-call list it always has.
What about sites with no cell coverage at all?
It happens, particularly in river bottoms and rural low spots. An external antenna solves most of them. Where it cannot, we say so rather than sell you hardware that will not work.
Can you quote by department or fund?
Yes. Water, sewer and public works often draw from different budgets, and quotes can be broken out accordingly.
We have twenty-odd sites. Where do we start?
With the bill. The audit tells you which lines are dead, which are duplicated, and which sites sit in wire centers already noticed for retirement. Those go first.
Start with the audit
Send a recent phone bill. We will tell you which lines feed which sites, which are already dead, and what replacement costs, before you commit to anything.