You’ve got a smart phone. Maybe a smart watch. Or even a smart doorbell. In the coming months and years as California struggles with worsening droughts, millions of Bay Area residents will soon be getting a smart water meter. Water meters — the clunky brass devices that sit in underground boxes near the sidewalks outside most homes and businesses, measuring water use — have been around since the 1820s. But in many areas, utilities only send out water bills every two months, or maybe once a month. That means unless residents go out, lift the heavy concrete lid and dutifully write down the numbe…
