A smart utility network helped Walla Walla reduce water system losses
Non-revenue water (NRW) is like an itch that can’t be scratched for many water utilities. Water leaks, broken pipes and issues with aging infrastructure can all exacerbate the challenge. As a result of these factors, many utilities across North America still struggle with millions of gallons of NRW per day.
To help solve the NRW puzzle and improve efforts to combat water loss, utilities should consider enhanced metering, measurement, communications and analytics. Combining the right technologies in the right system will help close the gap between the volume of water supplied and the amount billed to customers. Utilities can also gain new data within the water cycle to improve operations.
With a proactive strategy, utilities can streamline the process for identifying sources of unintended water loss and reduce it. In this article, we’ll explore how the City of Walla Walla, Wash., is using a smart utility network to address NRW while improving customer service and building for the future.
Rich History and Aging Infrastructure
From its roots as one of the oldest towns in Washington, Walla Walla has aged like a fine wine. Surrounded by vast vineyards from 120 different wineries, the area is well-known for its rich history, charm and overall appeal. Unlike wine, however, the aging process has hurt some of its infrastructure — including 200 miles of water pipelines.
“As our pipes failed and water meters aged, we began to see a 30 percent annual water loss — which is significant given that we distribute about three billion gallons of water each year,” said City of Walla Walla Water Distribution Supervisor Adrian Sutor. “We needed a solution to help us better track and maintain our water resources.”
Addressing 30 Percent Water Loss
The city decided a major upgrade was needed to enhance its metering system and curb unintended water loss. It chose to deploy a smart utility network from Sensus, a Xylem brand, to improve accuracy and leak detection while unlocking capabilities to advance its distribution system.
Walla Walla deployed Sensus iPERL® residential water meters and OMNI™ commercial meters to service the city’s 11,000 water accounts. Paired with the two-way FlexNet® communication network for near real-time remote monitoring, the city gained better control over its system, made tangible improvements to customer service and reduced the apparent losses in the system.
“We detected more than 2,000 leaks in the first year of deployment and promptly alerted each customer of any issues, which greatly improved our customer service,” Sutor said.
For Walla Walla, the benefits of accurate, real-time data went beyond enhancing operations.
“By reducing water loss and cutting down the carbon footprint associated with truck rolls, we were well on our way to becoming more sustainable as a utility,” Sutor said.
Building on the Investment
With everything going smoothly, Sutor and other city employees began to consider what more they could solve beyond metering and leaks. Where past attempts at pressure monitoring had failed, Walla Walla saw fresh possibilities with its new smart network.
“Traditional acoustic solutions had been unsuccessful on our louder, steel pipes,” Sutor said. “FlexNet gave us the opportunity to leverage more innovative sensors.”
The city deployed Sensus ally® water meters for advanced pressure monitoring and management across residential accounts. The ally meters use innovative electromagnetic flow measurement technology to allow for enhanced accuracy ranges at both low and high flows. Paired with the Sensus® Smart Gateway Sensor Interface, the smart water metering solution provides the city with timely insights on pressure, temperature, levels and switches, giving technicians confidence in a full-system profile.
“Within hours, we could spot things that would take many utilities several months to address,” Sutor said. For example, by monitoring pressure in just one specific zone, Walla Walla was able to stabilize and reduce pressure and correct large fluctuations and excessively high pressure — all of which led to the reduction of non-revenue water.
“From major events such as pipe bursts down to subtle pressure fluctuations, the solution helped us improve asset management and ensure the best quality of service for customers,” he added.
Growing for the Future
Walla Walla continues to leverage the new capabilities afforded by FlexNet. The city is testing applications for creek-level monitoring, district metering and remote shutoff — all on the same network it uses for smart metering.
“As we get smarter about the technology we can leverage, we’ll keep building on our network to add value,” Sutor said. Increased sustainability and other benefits of smart technology are two advancements to which the residents and visitors to Walla Walla can toast.
“The City of Walla Walla exemplifies the water infrastructure challenges our country is facing and the power of technology and data to address them,” Colin Sabol, president of measurement and control solutions at Xylem, said. “As much of Washington faces drought conditions, Walla Walla is taking a proactive stance to ensure a more water-secure future for us all.”
Walla Walla is hardly the only city facing environmental conditions or other factors that push conservation objectives to the forefront. By taking a strategic approach to addressing water loss, many providers can similarly benefit from building a more sustainable utility that can also pay dividends into the future.
Making the Leap
Each utility must consider smart water solutions and technologies based on its own unique needs. While conservation and sustainability are important in many municipalities, factors such as water costs, unbilled usage and budget for repair and maintenance initiatives are also important. The size and scope of services make a difference as well. A smaller city like Walla Walla is going to have different priorities than larger ones like Seattle or Portland.
Some utilities may desire to take Walla Walla’s lead in deploying solutions on a step-by-step basis to advance their overall water loss prevention program. Upgrading metering infrastructure often serves as a good starting point to improve administrative capabilities. Utilities may then decide to take operations to the next level with innovative water distribution management and pressure monitoring systems to reduce NRW and protect infrastructure investments.
Whether building an incremental strategy or identifying solutions based on specific needs, every utility should consider its approach in context with its goals for the road ahead. Choosing to deploy the right solutions at the right time can help utilities optimize their water cycle in ways that will create ongoing opportunities to recapture lost revenue, reduce costs and pave the way for a more sustainable future. WW
