In June, Sensus announced the deployment of its new ally water meter that allows users to remotely turn water on and off to help manage high maintenance accounts and to better control flow and pressure.
“With the integrated three-state valve, utilities can remotely turn on water for a new account, turn it off in the event of a leak or reduce the flow,” said Dan Pinney, senior director of global water marketing at Sensus.
The reduced flow option helps utilities manage high maintenance accounts, write-offs for bad debt and collections. And, like a good friend who shares information, the ally meter’s alarms can alert utilities to numerous conditions including empty pipes, reverse flow, leaks and tampering.
Pressure Monitoring
Without pressure, water doesn’t move. The ally meter contains sensors for monitoring pressure at the service connection. Furthermore, the Sensus Smart Gateway Sensor Interface and Sensus Essential Water Analytics, allows utilities to create a map of the complete service area, which will help with overall operational efficiency.
“If we can improve pressure monitoring and control, utilities can better manage energy consumption — because it takes a lot of energy to pump and move water around,” said Pinney.
Temperature Monitoring
Temperature sensors in the ally meter can alert utilities to a potential freezing problem, either at the service connection or in the water mains. Knowing the temperature can also help utilities get reliable data on water quality data.
“Utilities manage the time between when water leaves a well or plant and when it’s consumed,” said Pinney. “Typically, it’s between three and four days. Anything more than that and the water becomes stale.
Transmitting the data from the ally meter back to the utility happens with the Sensus FlexNet system, a powerful, utility-grade communication network that helps support the growth of smart cities.
“Think of the network as another pipe, only this one carries data, not water,” said Pinney. “Unlike a water pipe, though, the data can be prioritized, so that the most important information reaches the utility first. Water utility staff can’t be in all places at all times. That’s why they need a friend in the field — and an ally they can count on.”
