The Saskatchewan City of North Battleford says real-time data delivered by smart water meters and a communication network has improved operational efficiency and proactively discovered leaks.
North Battleford’s smart utility network and advanced metering infrastructure includes residential water meters that enable staff to remotely turn on or off water services or reduce flow to minimize lost revenue.
City staff are also using Xylem Inc.’s smart meters and the Sensus FlexNet communication network.
“As an operations professional, I see the main benefit for us is the system’s instant feedback and how granular we can get with the data,” said Jeff Blanchard, North Battleford’s assistant director of operations, in a recent case study on remote digital services. “This detailed information has allowed us to decrease accounting errors and quickly identify customers with continuous consumption.”
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Operations staff said remote services have reduced manual curbside shutoffs and reconnects. Since recently implementing the suite of tools, local officials estimate that they’ve already saved approximately $125,000 in staff time, and reduced fleet and fuel costs.
Blanchard noted that a local store had installed new low-flow fixtures, but a faulty sensor caused one of the fixtures to leak 1.7m³ of water per hour. North Battleford’s new advanced metering infrastructure quickly detected the excessive water usage and allowed the customer to rectify the problem.
