Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | APRIL 2020 | 13 Q. Tell us a bit more about your smart meter programme. A. "Like London, our region is experienc- ing increased water scarcity and a grow- ing population. The purpose of digital metering is to bring value to our custom- ers and help ensure security of supply into the future. Our digital metering programme is currently delivering a proof of concept (PoC) project to understand how digital metering can be successfully deployed at scale and inform our future direction. "We are deliberately challenging ourselves and our partners through the PoC. We've boldly chosen to work with leading edge game-changing technologies and to deploy them in some of the most challenging areas of our network." Q. Are other Australian water companies installing smart meters or are you the first? A. "Digital metering is building up mo- mentum all around Australia. City West Water and the other Melbourne metro- politan utilities South East Water and Yarra Valley Water are among the most progressive and proactive to approach digital metering with a customer focused, large-scale, long-term view." Q. What feedback have you had so far from your customers on smart meters? Are they happy to have them? A. "It's rewarding to hear our customers' feedback from our PoC. We've had some incredible success stories of customers saving significant amounts of water and money due to being notified of leaks through digital metering, including a public school which avoided around $10,000 of water costs due to a leak under a concrete slab." Q. Here in the Thames Water area, people typically use around 12% less when on a meter. Do you find similar reductions? A. "This is one area where we differ some- what. Australia has one of the highest rates of water metering per capita in the world so very few properties don't already have a mechanical water meter. We are expecting that digital metering will be an- other step (or a leap) forward in helping customers to save water." Q. What did you learn from Thames Water's smart meter programme that you can take back to Mel- bourne? A. "I was inspired by the progress and achievements of Thames Water in digital metering. There were certainly lessons learnt from Thames Water that may help influence our organisational direction." Q. Did you feel that it was also a useful exercise for Thames Water? A. "While Thames Water is further down the track on implementing digital meter- ing than we are, they were very interested in the solutions we're exploring, especial- ly the wireless communications aspects. Australia, and in particular Melbourne utilities, have been very progressive in exploring and supporting open standards and non-proprietary radio communica- tions for the water industry." Q. Will you maintain contact with Thames Water going forward? A. "Absolutely. We're continuing with some further discussions on planning and technology. We're also looking to arrange a presentation from Thames Water on their digital metering journey to Intelli- gent Water Networks which is a collabora- tive group of 16 water utilities in Victoria, Australia." Installing a smart meter in Melbourne. Water efficiency Thames Water's David Gable on why the company is fitting smart meters. Our forecasts show that unless we do something now, there will be a shortfall of around 130 million litres of water a day in London by 2025. That's the amount of water needed by approximately 850,000 people. As our population grows, the amount of water we need will increase. We also have to understand and plan for the effect that climate change has on water supplies. Fitting smart water meters is just one of the ways we can manage precious water supplies for the future. Meters help us manage water demand, as typically metered customers use 12 per cent less water, and they also help us find leaks so we can fix these quickly. Every five years, water companies are required to develop a Water Resources Management Plan. This sets out how we intend to maintain a secure supply of water for customers over at least the next 25 years. Metering, reducing leakage and exploring the development of new sources of water are all part of this plan. As part of fitting meters we are offering customers a free Smarter Home Visit, where we visit your home, review how you are using water and provide you with bespoke water saving tips and free water efficient gadgets. This is available to all our customers starting with London and working borough by borough. This approach means all customers are treated in a fair and consistent manner, helping everyone use water more efficiently. "Like London, our region is experiencing increased water scarcity and a growing population. The purpose of digital meter- ing is to bring value to our customers and help ensure security of supply into the future." CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE