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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAquaHawk_Oshkosh_FAQs AquaHawk Frequently Asked Questions General Questions Q: What is AquaHawk? AquaHawk is the City of Oshkosh’s new online customer water use portal. With AquaHawk you may view your hourly water consumption, manage your water usage and set and customize alert settings. Q: Will I automatically receive alerts if I register for AquaHawk? No. AquaHawk is an opt-in program; customers must register for the water use portal and set their own usage alerts (called “My Thresholds”). AquaHawk does not send automatic alerts. To receive usage alerts, these user-defined thresholds must be set. Learn more about setting usage alerts (My Thresholds) in the AquaHawk Help Portal: http://help.aquahawk.us/water-my-thresholds Q: How often does the AquaHawk data update? AquaHawk is not a real time data display. The data normally updates several times a day but can lag due to environmental factors that can block signals from the meter. Cars, trash cans, snow etc. can temporarily block data transmissions. Q: What browsers does AquaHawk support? AquaHawk supports the two most recent versions of the browsers listed below: • Mozilla Firefox • Google Chrome • Apple Safari • Microsoft Edge Q: How do I connect directly to the Oshkosh AquaHawk site? Go to https://oshkwi.aquahawk.us/login. You can also bookmark this page for easy access in the future. Q: Does AquaHawk have a help page? Yes. The AquaHawk help site can be accessed at http://help.aquahawk.us/water-portal-overview. The site provides information on system requirements, registration and an overview of the customer water use portal. Q: Does AquaHawk have a smartphone app? AquaHawk does not have a smartphone app, but does offer a mobile browser-friendly view of key data and existing alerts. The mobile friendly site is accessed through the same web link as the full AquaHawk site, https://oshkwi.aquahawk.us/login. AquaHawk is supported on Android tablets and the Apple IOS iPad as well as the Apple IOS iPhone, Android phones and Windows Mobile. Q: Can I pay my bill through AquaHawk? No, you cannot pay your city water bill through AquaHawk. To pay your utility bill please visit https://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/UtilityBilling/PaymentOptions.aspx. Registration Questions Q: Who can register? All property owners or city utility billing account holders are encouraged to register with AquaHawk. The account holder who receives the monthly utility bill from the City may choose to provide access to others (tenants, landscapers, etc.) to view the water usage for the account. Each user may set-up his/her own login with AquaHawk but will need permission from the account owner and the account information to complete the registration process. Q: How do I register? Go to the City of Oshkosh AquaHawk page (https://oshkwi.aquahawk.us/login). Click the Register button and fill in your personal contact information. The information does not have to match the contact information on your utility bill. Alerts will be sent to your preferred contact method. After a few minutes, you will receive an e-mail confirmation with your login information and will be redirected to the City of Oshkosh AquaHawk portal page where you can sign in. If this is the first time signing in, the Add Account box pops up. Enter the Account Number, Account Name and Service Address listed on your utility bill exactly as it appears there. Q: What information do I need when I register? You will need the account number, name and service address listed on your utility bill. If your account number contains leading zeros and is not being accepted during the registration process, remove the leading zeros and try again. If your account number is still not accepted, please contact Oshkosh Water Utility Billing staff at (920) 232-5336 or waterdistribution@ci.oshkosh.wi.us. Q: How do I switch between views of accounts and meters? Click on the down arrow in the search box (upper right corner of AquaHawk page), select the account or meter you would like to review. The account/meter number above the usage graph will change to show the meter or account that you have selected. Q: How do I view multiple accounts under one registration? Click the “X” in the search box (upper right corner of the AquaHawk page); select an account from the drop down list. The Account # above the usage graph will change to show the account you are viewing. Questions About Viewing Data Q: What time periods can I view on the graph? The selection bar above the water usage graph allows you to select a time view of 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, 30 days, 45 days, 365 days and 12 months. Q: How do I view daily and hourly data on the graph? Click on any monthly bar graph and you will see daily data. Select any single day bar graph and you will see hourly usage. Hover over a blue bar to see consumption details. Q: Can I search for use on a particular day? Yes. In the bar at the top of the graph, enter the date you which to view in the search field. You can also scroll forward and backward from that date with the arrows to the side of the search bar. Q: Why do I see orange bars on my usage graph? The orange bars on the graph indicate “spanning”. If a meter doesn’t report for several time intervals, AquaHawk “spans” or averages the retrieved data over the timeframe between reports. Click on “Actual” to view your water use data without spanning. Q: How do I export my water usage data? Water usage data can be downloaded into a .csv file that can be opened with Microsoft Excel and other applications. To download water usage data, follow the steps below: 1. Click the blue Export button in the water usage panel (top center of the AquaHawk page). 2. Select the account you which to download information for or choose all registered accounts. 3. Select a start and end date for the data you wish to export. 4. Select hourly, daily or monthly data. If downloading hourly data please note that hourly information can only be downloaded for a seven day time period. 5. Click download. Q: What does a leak look like on the AquaHawk website? Leaks show as continuous water use every hour of the day. Looking at the nighttime hours (midnight to 4:00 am) are the best times to check since consumption is expected to be zero. This changes during irrigation season but as a general rule that is a good time span to check. The graph below reflects a leak for several days. Notice that every hour shows consumption, even when water use would be expected to be zero. The graph below shows no leak and this looks like normal household consumption. All residences are different in volume but the pattern is similar. Thresholds Questions Q: What are thresholds, or ‘My Thresholds’? ‘My Thresholds’ are the billing and water usage alerts that you set for yourself. When the threshold(s) you set is exceeded you will receive a notification via your chosen contact method. Q: How do I set thresholds? • Click the blue My Thresholds button in the water usage panel (top center of the AquaHawk page) to open your alert options. • Choose the types of alerts that you would like to set and click apply. Q: What types of thresholds can I set? You have the option to set an estimated bill alert threshold, a water use threshold, thresholds for water use in gallons over a 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week or 1 month time period and an amount of water in gallons per hour for a specified amount of time. Water running continuously over longer periods of time, particularly throughout the night, can be a sign of a leak. Setting this alert for continuous water use over a period of 24 hours is highly recommended. Find more information on customizing alert settings on this help page: http://help.aquahawk.us/water-my-thresholds Q: When I open the thresholds tab, I only see an estimated bill alert threshold and a water use alert threshold. Where are the other threshold options? To view the entire list of threshold options that can be set, click on the link in the My Thresholds box that reads “To set advanced water use thresholds, click here.” You will be asked to choose a meter from the available meters list. The majority of accounts will see two meters listed and, you will want to choose the meter that reads “Water-Residential-Active” (this is your active water meter). If you have multiple accounts or meters for a property you will see additional options in this list. Click on the meter and the advanced threshold options will appear in the box. Q: What levels should I use when setting thresholds? This allows you to set consumption levels that, if exceeded, will automatically send an alert to the registered user. The City recommends setting a threshold 10% above the usual normal consumption. For example, if you look back over your daily consumption for the last month or two and see that you never exceeded 200 gallons per day, enter 220 in the “1 Day” box and then if you exceed that amount you will receive an automated alert from AquaHawk. Remember to change this if your daily use increases from irrigation, house guests, extended vacations, etc. If you are receiving more alerts then you would like you can change your threshold levels at any time. Q: How do I set an alert for continuous water usage? The last row in the box under advanced water use thresholds allows you to set an amount of water in gallons per hour for a specified amount of time. Water running continuously over longer periods of time, particularly throughout the night, can be a sign of a leak. Setting this alert for continuous water use over a period of 24 hours is highly recommended.