Managing Every Drop of Water Smartly
Population growth and climate change are placing pressure on finite water resources. Read how Yorkshire Water is turning to smart technology to enhance the resilience of its supply.
Population growth is one of the main contributors to water scarcity, with rising populations increasing demand and competition for water for domestic, industrial, and municipal uses. Meanwhile, climate change is resulting in changes in precipitation and runoff, reducing surface and groundwater supplies in many areas. These trends are likely to continue as the century progresses, resulting in the increased likelihood of water shortages for many uses.
Managing water more smartly
With population growth and climate change increasing water scarcity, cities and their respective water utilities are turning to Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), or ‘smart meters’, to manage water more efficiently.
Smart meters are a two-way solution in which a network is created between the meters and the utility’s Information System. In this network, smart meters not only allow for remote meter reading but also allow high-resolution consumption data to be sent to the customer. This data can be used to raise awareness of water consumption and allow customers to develop their own strategies to reduce water usage.
From the utility’s side, smart meters provide multiple benefits including leak detection, energy reduction, demand forecasting, enhanced awareness campaigns, promotion of efficient appliances, and performance indicators. From the customer’s side, smart meters can provide information on when/where is water being used, comparisons of own water use against other customers, and quick leak detection.
Yorkshire Water aiming for a resilient supply
With demand for water projected to increase with population growth — the population of Yorkshire is likely to increase by around 1 million people by 2045— and climate change likely to increase water scarcity ensuring a resilient supply is a top priority for Yorkshire Water.
To enhance resilience, Yorkshire Water is aiming to reduce leakage by over 40% by 2025 and become one of the leaders in the water industry. Currently, the water company deals with around 5,500 leaks on its network each year, costing around £19,000 per day to investigate and repair.
Yorkshire Water’s smart meter water leakage trial
Yorkshire Water is conducting a new smart meter water leakage trial in Sheffield which it hopes will play a key role in the water company’s aim of saving up to 250,000 liters of water per burst. The smart meters will remotely send 15-minute water flow information back to Yorkshire Water every 12 hours. Using this data, the water company can identify when increases in demand are due to leakage and respond quickly. Sheffield was chosen as a location for the two-year trial for geographic reasons. First, the hilly terrain will test the capabilities of the wireless solution for transferring flow data and second, its elevation means the area experiences leakage challenges during freeze-thaw events.
Conclusion
Smart meters ensure our precious water supplies do not go to waste.