Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities on Wednesday will begin testing 9,000 residential water meters in the city and county to “verify how meter equipment is functioning in the field.”

The testing comes as part of a series of project that the utility said it began in February to improve customer service and billing. In January, the utility said it was shifting employees to investigate complaints of possibly erroneously high water bills.

“This is the first time Utilities has undertaken an audit of this nature, and it will provide a benchmark to inform decisions about equipment replacement and quality assurance strategies,” Interim Director Barry Gullet said in a press release Monday. “I see this as the first of periodic audits that give us continual feedback on meter reading performance.”

CMU said independent auditors from Vanguard Utility Service Inc., of Kentucky will conduct the tests. Customers do not need to take any action, and auditors will not need to enter homes. Auditors will conduct an inspection at the meter box and will perform a “flow test” by running water briefly from an outdoor spigot. This ensures the meter equipment is accurately measuring water use.

The auditors will drive marked vehicles and wear identification, CMU said. They will leave door hangers with audit findings for those customers involved in the project.

“If they identify a problem, a (Charlotte Mecklenburg) Utilities crew will be dispatched to correct it as soon as possible. If the problem had affected the customer’s bill, it will be adjusted accordingly,” the Monday press release said.

CMU said it will be testing “a cross-section of transmitter types, water consumption and geography.”

For more information, go to www.cmutilities.com.