AMI solution provides improved meter reading

Problem: 

South Walton Utility Co. manages Miramar Beach water and wastewater services in Florida. In the past, one utility employee would drive around the service area reading meters, but as the population continued to expand, the utility realized the need to update its metering system. South Walton Utility also needed to address a Department of Environmental Protection regulatory issue to prevent backflow, and without hard data to justify the need for replacement of preventors, this could have been costly.

Solution: 

South Walton Utility went with the Mueller Water Products Mi.Net system that connects meters, distribution sensors and control devices to provide near-real-time data that monitors water consumption and determines if any leaks exist. If the system detects any problems, it immediately sends emails and alarms to administrators, who can address the issue in a much more timely fashion than before, which saves the utility money and reduces water loss. Additionally, the system sends an alert when backflow conditions are detected, helping the utility remain compliant with the Florida DEP’s regulations.

Result: 

The Mi.Net system has not only helped South Walton Utility improve revenue, but it also helped meet the requirements for its consumptive use permit from the Water Management District by demonstrating they are minimizing water loss. South Walton Utility is now looking at expanding its advanced metering infrastructure solution to include leak detection, as well as shut-off meters and a customer portal. 800-423-1323; www.muellerwaterproducts.com.

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Magnetic flowmeter solves data problem for major water utility

Problem: 

SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions operates a large water system in the New York City suburb of Westchester County and was planning to upgrade its aging infrastructure. The utility’s top priority was finding a solution that could pinpoint and stem water loss quickly and easily, even in no-power situations, to save water and reduce its bottom line.

Solution: 

SUEZ developed a big data-driven model of its water systems to compare real-time water usage against a historical baseline. They chose the Sitrans FM MAG 8000 flowmeter from Siemens Process Instrumentation as the primary input for the model. This battery-operated water meter measures accurately and reliably in very low-power or low-flow applications, and the transmitter is designed for remote mounting. Water flow data is stored in its wireless data logger at one-minute intervals, and the data logger’s cellular modem uploads the data to the SUEZ database at the end of each day.

Result: 

Siemens collaborated with SUEZ to fine-tune the measurement accuracy to better than 1% of rate on an average flow day and 2% on a minimum flow day. With real-time water usage data, SUEZ is now realizing water savings of 1 mgd and has reduced leak detection times from several days to less than 24 hours. 800-365-8766; www.usa.siemens.com/pi.