As upward pressure on public agency services costs—cities, water agencies, etc. continues to increase, utilities must get smarter. Progressive leaders are looking for forward-thinking Smart City / Smart Agency initiatives. These include scalable communications networks with open architecture that can grow with their communities.

Water management is no exception. Solutions that employ such Smart City networks, while helping develop and leverage partnerships between water suppliers and their customers, will reap the most benefit now and into the future. One such solution has pioneered several innovative features that make it deserving of a closer look.
Two Ways Are Better Than One

“Smart communications grids” are those that leverage digital technology to improve infrastructure, asset management, environmental, financial, and social aspects of urban life. Included in this category are open, “smart” water networks, the wave of the future. The innovations forming this wave are already making a splash.

According to TechRepublic’s Smart Cities Cheat Sheet , “The International Data Corporation (IDC) defines smart city development as the use of smart initiatives combined to leverage technology investments across an entire city, with common platforms increasing efficiency, data being shared across systems, and IT investments tied to smart missions.”

Certainly, water system management is one of those areas ripe—if not overdue—for true smart initiatives. When Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) technology debuted in the mid-1980s and rapidly proliferated through the 1990s, it was a boon for utilities and water management agencies. But that’s yesterday’s solution to yesterday’s challenges.

Now, the world is becoming more urban. 60% of the world’s population is expected to live in cities by mid-century. It’s time the one-way benefit of AMR is replaced by modern technology that connects, engages and empowers both water providers and end users. Today’s fast-moving agencies require a revolutionary meter monitoring/valve control solution that benefits both utilities and their customers.