Intelligent urban water systems (Project C5.1)

Overview

Intelligent urban water systems use state-of- the-art sensors and specialised software to continuously monitor and analyse the health of a system such as a water supply treatment system and network. This results in detailed information such as water consumption by hour, total volumes consumed, or minimum hourly flow per day, being relayed to water authorities.

The project aims to develop innovative analysis techniques for smart water data to optimise the efficiency and safety of urban water systems and to learn more about water consumption behaviours of customers. The project will focus on smart household water meters and water pumping in pipe delivery systems that manage water from alternative sources.

Key outcomes

The project will deliver new techniques for automated large-scale, real-time data collection and analysis, which will generate a better understanding of water consumption behaviours and patterns and enhance water utilities’ decision-making on water supply, control and management. This information, fed back to customers, will contribute to long-term behavioural and lifestyle changes in terms of using water more wisely.

Researchers have developed a suite of novel algorithms that enable rapid analysis of “big data” on water usage derived from smart meters. Working with industry, they have produced guidelines for applying smart metering algorithms with examples from two case study populations in Karratha and Kalgoorlie.

A key outcome has been the development of the first extended toolbox for EPANET (a water distribution system and pumping simulation tool) that allows complex rule-based decisions to be optimised. This enables extensive exploration of optimisation of pumping especially in multiple tank and multiple pump station systems.