AVK sustainability report 2023 with links A4 - Flipbook - Page 20
AVK SMART WATER
PROVIDES ACCESSIBLE
AND RELIABLE DATA
A water utility’s foremost duty is to ensure a safe and
reliable drinking water supply for its consumers. To do this,
they must ensure reliable operations and functionality of
the water distribution network and be able to react quickly
when unwanted changes occur.
Nowadays, many utilities have installed meters
that can measure water consumption, which is
essential to ensure correct billing and to reduce
the amount of Non-Revenue Water (NRW).
However, there is potential to collect and utilise
a larger amount of data from the utility network
by installing sensors, such as those AVK has
developed in our Smart Water solutions. By
applying AVK Smart Water solutions to key
network assets such as valves or fittings,
data can be delivered directly to a dedicated
software platform where it is transformed into
valuable knowledge and insight, saving both
time, water, energy, and labour resources.
Collecting valuable data
The AVK Smart Water solution is a combination
of sensors and software. Our software allows
easy integration with a preferred IT system as
well as visualisation in AVK Smart Water’s own
platform, VIDI Cloud.
20 | AVK Sustainability report 2022/2023
The sensors are designed for our gate valves,
fittings, and hydrants. Once installed, they can
provide data about pressure, flow, temperature,
or open/closed position directly from
applications in the distribution network. This
way of monitoring network activities makes it
possible to save resources, minimise water loss
as well as optimise operation and maintenance
activities, for example by quickly informing
about leaks.
The sensors use the wireless IoT technology
NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) to
ensure good coverage and long battery life.
NB-IoT can penetrate closed structures such
as wells, chambers, and other underground
structures.
Dividing the water network into sections
Leaks in pipes and other equipment, caused by,
for example, bursts or breaks, are some of the
main causes of water loss. When a leak occurs,
it can take days, weeks and even years before
it is detected, and finding the exact area in a
large, wide-reaching network is no easy task.
Therefore, dividing the supply network into
separate sections, also referred to as District
Metering Areas – DMA, is an effective
technique that makes it possible to get an
overview of what is going on underground.
Water loss can be calculated in the sections
individually, and operators can better plan and
prioritise their efforts.
Coping with water loss in the entire distribution
network, rather than in individual zones
(DMA’s), means working in a reactive, passive
manner, where activities are only initiated when
a loss becomes visible or reported.
