Solution Saves Water Utility More Than 2 Million Gallons of Water in Less Than a Year
Considering that it takes 42,267 gallons of water to produce one computer and 1,581 gallons to produce a pound of beef, is it any surprise that at current consumption rates the world faces a 40 percent water shortage by 2030?
Sensus, a leading utility infrastructure company, is bringing water utilities new tools to maximize resources with AquaSense™ intelligent water management, which unites the Sensus FlexNet™ two-way communications network with advanced meters, software and services to help utilities boost operational efficiency and customer engagement. Sensus is on the leading edge of the growing smart grid for water, and is already helping water utilities across the country implement water management projects. Most recently, Sensus intelligent water management solutions were chosen by Albuquerque-Bernalillo County, Garden City, Kansas and the Town of Cary, NC. One customer, Santa Maria, California, has already saved more than 2 million gallons of water in less than a year after deploying AquaSense
solutions.
“Water utilities and municipalities across the country are looking for ways to strike the right balance between consuming and conserving water,” said Mike Tracy, executive vice president for Sensus, North America. “They must manage the rising costs of energy, capture lost revenue and support new customer service expectations.”
AquaSense helps utilities do that by building on technologies commonly associated with the electric smart grid, but with an approach that
focuses on the specific challenges and opportunities facing water utilities. AquaSense affordably scales to help utilities of all sizes realize a short-term return on investment through two-way communication capabilities that enable utilities to automate meter reading, monitor distribution lines for leaks, perform field operations remotely and interact with customers through web portals and home area networks.
With innovative and proven technologies from Sensus, utilities can choose the solutions that meet their own unique phase of technology adoption and implementation. These options include the iPERL and OMNI water meter collections for unprecedented accuracy in residential,
commercial and industrial measurement and leak detection and other alarms when meters are connected to the FlexNet network. If there is a leak or inefficiency it is identified promptly – typically within hours instead of days or weeks. With smart meters continually gathering system data, AquaSense intelligent software turns data into knowledge for billing, operations and overall utility management. It allows utilities to give their customers valuable information on how to manage their water consumption. What’s more, with AquaSense, utilities can begin realizing a return on their investment on day one.
A 2010 Oracle study found that one in three water utilities were in some phase of implementing a smart water program and that they viewed the most important benefits as early leak detection, supplying customer with tools to monitor and reduce water use, providing more accurate water pricing rates, curbing overall water demand and improving their ability to conduct preventive maintenance.