Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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Waterfall out to make a splash Fitted near a building's stopcock and supplying cloud-based, accessible information about water use, an 'intelligent water solution' developed through a partnership between SES Water and Creative EC could offer the key to unlocking some of the industry's biggest challenges. By Robin Hackett I f the smart meter revolution has yet to take hold of the UK water sector, SES Water and Creative EC are hope- ful that Waterfall is the intelligent solution the industry has been waiting for. Their cloud-based device has been developed collaboratively with the aim of providing answers to major challenges including leakage, consumption and network management. "There's nothing like this out there at the moment," Jeremy Heath, innova- tion manager at SES Water, says. "This is a game-changing technology for the industry." Waterfall shares many features with the latest smart water meter technol- ogy but is already capable of delivering more, and the team are still trying to open up every avenue to understand its full potential. The device is installed next to a prem- ises' stopcock and, working alongside a Titan ultrasonic flow meter, collects data such as temperature, pressure and flow and makes use of machine learning, AI and data analytics to deliver insights via the cloud. The system develops 'signatures' that can identify the source of water use – the kitchen tap or upstairs toilet, for example – and can relay that information, along with the exact amount of water used, almost instantly via an app. Customers can view their consumption data over the course of a day or longer periods of time to gain an understanding of which particular aspects of their water use are driving up their bills, with usage levels and monetary values given against each water source, opening up the pos- sibility to provide 'nudges'. combining them," Heath adds. "I realised it was really interesting – your mind starts to race as you think of all the possibilities. "As time went by, my interest grew and grew. As I started to talk to others at SES Water, like our leakage manager and water resources manager, the interest just went up and up and up and up." The two parties worked collabora- tively to develop the product, with Heath articulating the problems facing the water industry and Creative EC working on solutions. "When the problem within the water industry was articulated, our response was: 'We can solve that'," Keith Ali, Crea- tive EC managing director and co-owner, says. "All we've got to do is think cleverly and use the technology, use the oppor- tunity that we have in front of us with regard to our skills and knowledge around innovation, technology, AI, machine learning. If the data indicates a minor leak – and its machine-learned signatures are designed to distinguish leakage from wa- ter use with similar profiles, such as lo‰ tanks refilling – it will alert the customer and offer an indication of the potential cost if they fail to rectify the issue. Sig- nificantly, it also gives the user the ability to shut the water off at the mains via the app, preventing serious water damage. The partnership between SES Water and Creative EC emerged a‰er Heath began talking at conferences about how there was a gap in the market for suppli- ers of sensors, comms and data solutions to help create a smarter water network. He was contacted in May 2017 by Phil Riddles, Creative EC's Internet of Things business development manager, with an e-mail that sparked his interest. "Phil basically spelled out what he was working on, and at that stage it was very much about a valve and a meter and 28 | MARCH 2019 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk The Knowledge Valves and smart metering The Waterfall smart valve system on show at an event for water companies in London GOAL 6 WATER CONSUMPTION