Water and Effluent Treatment Magazine
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networks are an area of the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosys- tem that has been steadily gaining momentum and could hold the key to dealing with the water challenges. This has long been noticed by the GSMA, who included sustaina- ble water management as one of their Sustainable Develop- 16 WET NEWS FEBRUARY 2018 Mobile networks: the key to smarter water solutions M anaging the supply of sanitary water is a criti- cal, yet demanding task for regions around the world. And the challenges around this responsibility are only likely to intensify further. The effects of climate change are continuing to occur, increasing the propen- sity of drought in many parts of the world, and a rising global population compounded with mass urbanisation mean that new processes are required if water consumption demands are to be met. Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing the water industry today. Occurrence of extreme weather brought about as a result of global warming, including floods and drought, are increasing in reg- ularity and severity. In the long term, areas of water scar- city are likely to become more pronounced as average tem- peratures rise and desertifica- tion of some regions becomes a real risk. What's more, extreme weather conditions are putting additional strain on the legacy systems that maintain water Fortunately, these companies can drastically improve their efficiency by leaning on recent technological advances. Mobile IoT networks Mobile networks in licenced spectrum represent a huge opportunity for water services. Low Power, Wide Area (LPWA) ment Goals. What makes Mobile LPWA unique is its ability to commu- nicate information in under- ground or hard to reach loca- tions and in such a way that supports long term battery life, which is one of the main issues that has plagued water man- agement in the past. This supplies. This has led to one of the greatest challenges for water companies; the balanc- ing of cost between replacing aged sections of the pipeline before it fails, and the expense and disruption of replacing it a‹er a leak. Another challenge is that water consumption can run out of control if it is unchecked. Issues from leaks, empty prop- erties and inappropriate use of water can all affect the quality of supply to homes and busi- nesses in a surrounding area. In fact, water networks o‹en struggle to identify and fix leaks, which can regularly result in 20% of potable water being lost from the network, according to Ofwat. Water leakage on the supply side can result in large volumes of water being lost, and when on the customer's property, this can cause excessive bills and in some cases significant dam- age and cost to repair. As such, it is vital that domestic, commercial and industrial water services adapt to these challenges. • INSIGHT SMART WATER Low Power, Wide Area (LPWA) mobile networks could be an invaluable tool for water companies and their contractors to help tackle water challenges and deliver smarter operations, writes Dr Shane Rooney, Executive Director of the GSMA