Water Efficiency June 2012 : Page 52
LEAKS-AND-AUDITS | GUY HOROWITZ energy consumption, and minimizing non-revenue water and leaks. expanding the monitoring as the utility sees fit, as in the case of Yarra Valley. By utilizing a SaaS solution, the system is accessible anywhere, at any time, by anyone with the proper creden-tials. Depending upon how the system is set up, data from the utility’s sensors gets transferred automatically to the SaaS system for analysis—with no interven-tion required from the utility. Th e data is cleaned and analyzed with the results displayed on a Web interface (or dash-board), which the utility can quickly act upon any issues that have arisen. Th e best part of a SaaS approach is that it requires no network changes, hardware additions, or other fi eld work. Th e system simply makes better use of the existing data within the network and makes it more actionable. SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE In some water network management deployments today, utilities take advantage of software as a service (SaaS) solutions, where data is gathered, analyzed, and stored in the “cloud.” For utilities, the ben-efits to a SaaS model are simple: there is no financial outlay for hardware or software licensing. And once a utility has sensors in place and data to be analyzed, the SaaS model allows for making the most of the data with little or no risk. A SaaS solution allows a utility to start small—monitoring only a limited section of the network and MAKING NETWORK MONITORING PRACTICAL In today’s economic climate in the US, though, as practical and smart as online water network monitoring sounds, tight budgets might thwart the examination of water efficiency goals. But is it really out of reach? For each 100 miles of main pipes in a network, the utility should have approximately 10 meters measuring fl ow and/or pressure. Th at means for a city the size of Chicago, as many as 800 meters might be ideal. But even with just 200 in place in a large city, online network monitoring can be utilized and meaningful data extracted. As benefi ts and savings are realized, the network can be expanded. In smaller cities with fewer than 500,000 people, 100 meters would likely suffi ce. Meter prices start in the low thousands and can range as high as $100,000 each, but most utili-ties can expect to spend a few thousand dollars per meter. Improvements in technologies are even making it easier and less costly to install meters. In some cases, municipalities are installing them through manholes. Smart Grid Case Study: Glendale, CA One of the best examples of smart grid technology in use in the US is in Glendale, CA, where Glendale Water and Power is fi rmly entrenched in smart technologies for both its water and electric operations. “I am quite an advocate for and believer in smart grids,” says Glenn Steiger, the utility’s general manager. And with good reason. For its water operation, Glendale Water and Power implemented smart sensors for leak detection about a year ago. Already, the data they are providing is helping to save about 800,000 gallons of water every month—with much of the savings coming from leak detection in customers’ homes and businesses that show up through meter monitoring. Imagine the surprise of customers being called by their water utility, alerting them that the hourly interval data being collected on their water use shows they may have a leak. The system may give some false alarms. Sometimes, a customer might be fi lling a swimming pool, for example. But there were many customers who, once alerted, were skeptical—that is, until they located the source of the problem such as an under-the-sink leak or a broken sprinkler head in the yard. The quick alerts to customers, “has helped put a very positive spin on the entire system,” says Steiger. Under the streets, Glendale’s sensors also alert the water utility of leaks that might otherwise have gone undetected for months or even year. The water utility is ahead of many other cities in terms of its monitoring, with about 2000 sensors in place monitoring about 450 miles of pipes servicing about 120,000 residences. “We have a lot of sensors because we have an older system,” explains Steiger. “Rebuilding or relining our existing network of pipes will take a long time. In the meantime, it is prudent to identify all leaks—even slow leaks—and know where they are,” so the system can remain effi cient. The data collected by the sensors (both for water and electricity) is monitored for anomalies by a team of six workers who can very quickly spot potential trouble spots. “In addition to the customer benefi ts, our smart grid system optimizes the pumping and associated electrical effi ciencies associated with monitoring our entire network of both water and electrical usage,” says Steiger. “The data received from 120,000 electric and water meters is integrated to optimize the operation of our utility, truly the future of electric and water smart grid applications.” Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles, buys approximately 60% of its water from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Water District (with about 30% of that water coming from northern California and the rest from the Colorado River). The other 40% comes from wells in Glendale. CONSUMER AND OTHER COST BENEFITS Graham Symmonds, CTO & SVP-Reg-ulatory Affairs & Compliance, GWRI– Global Water Resources in the US, noted in the SWAN Forum that efficient moni-toring benefits water utility customers. “Th e average consumer knows nei-ther how much water they consume, nor the impact that small changes in behavior can have on their own costs,” he says. “We know that water prices are going up as a result of increasing scarcity, decreasing quality, degrading infrastructure, and increasing operational costs. Once the cost of water crosses the ‘care point’ for consumers, they will be demanding more information from their utilities.” As consumers increasingly demand more data, Symmonds says, they want it customized for themselves. “ ‘How much water did I use today, and how did that compare to yesterday?; Is my consumption statistically diff erent from a week ago?; 52 WATER EFFICIENCY WWW.WATEREFFICIENCY.NET
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