No one can argue the wisdom of mandatory water conservation, or the good that accrues from the success of our efforts to implement these requirements. In the same vein, it’s difficult to deny the pressure of reduced revenue due to these efforts, which all water purveyors are experiencing. Add to that the rather rapidly increasing costs of everything, and

the need becomes obvious to find new ways to reduce overhead, rather than simply continuing to raise customer rates. Of course, there is also the side benefit of decreased water usage: less pumping requires less power, which is good for our budgets and the environment. And there are decreased water treatment costs, such as purification chemical usage. Still, though occasionally necessary, rate increases as a sole means to stay solvent are unsustainable.

This is an area where our Subeca IoT+ water management system truly shines as a genius, rather than simply smart, solution for water providers. Let’s take a look at the ways in which Subeca IoT+ helps address these realities:

• Smart Scalability – LoRaWAN, the foundation of Subeca’s AMI solution, is open to the water provider to scale into any “smart IoT” applications, thus reducing operating costs and increasing water system intelligence.
• Consumer Device Accommodation – The Edge Network (BLE5) included in Subeca’s AMI solution creates scalability for consumers to add agency devices—such as smart irrigation controllers, automated valves for remote shut-off, and flow sensors—so both the consumer and the agency understand where water is going. This function is incredibly important in distinguishing indoor from outdoor water use, which helps everyone create and maintain realistic usage and conservation objectives. This, in turn, helps providers more accurately anticipate usage and revenues for planning purposes.
• Agnostic Metering – Retrofitting meters is very important when installing our AMI solution. This frees water providers to use any meter they wish, without concern for communication protocols. Our solution ensures that any meter—those already in service or those that the agency may purchase—all speak the same AMI language. Short-term, this allows for more accurate and timely readings; long-term, it represents a far more cost-effective overall solution by pulling agencies out of the abyss of being locked into proprietary systems that may not age well.
• Integrated Communications – With many AMI systems, consumer and agency portals are often a separate purchase. Subeca provides a comprehensive, flexible portal for both agency and consumer, as an integrated part of its AMI solution. No add-on costs here!
• Elimination of Ugly Surprises – Unintended water loss is a real problem for California residents, and likely others. The ACT valve—which can be purchased with Subeca’s AMI solution or offered as a rebate item—ensures that occupants not only know there is water running somewhere when it shouldn’t be, but also have the power to do something about it! From anywhere in the world, via computer or smart device, through our dedicated app, the peace of mind that comes with control is invaluable. While many AMI providers can tell you there’s a leak, none but Subeca are able to provide a product that can address it in a timely fashion. This means that costs due to property damage and/or high bills are no longer necessary.
• Outdoor Water Use Management – Finally, Subeca offers weather-based, outdoor water budgeting as standard through our Engage digital platform. When coupled with on-property intelligence, agencies can monitor outdoor use, as well as irrigation day restriction compliance from a computer, rather than sending out staff in the wee hours, trying to catch unauthorized irrigation.

We’re proud to be able to offer this lengthy list of very real reasons to consider the Subeca IoT+ AMI system when seeking your own solution to the problem of revenue reduction due to mandatory water conservation efforts.

Following a year of robust growth in our system implementations, we gratefully acknowledge your support in making it possible for us to continue being part of the larger solution.

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