ABB: Protecting water resources

Protecting Water Resources

Advanced flow meters with remote communications deliver sustainable water solution

Population growth and rapid urbanisation are challenging water utilities to come up with new ways to meet growing demand. Alan Hunt, Product Manager Electromagnetic flowmeters,

ABB Measurement & Analytics UK and Eire, explains how remote communications are offering a real time view of flows to help detect losses so that repairs can be prioritised.

With the world facing growing water scarcity exacerbated by climate change, the importance of protecting water supplies and avoiding wastage is increasingly clear.

In a 2019 study by the International Water Association, it was estimated that around 346 billion litres of treated water is lost every day from pipelines worldwide.

There are also financial losses associated with leakages, not just from lost revenue, but every litre of lost water means that another litre that must be processed and pumped, using more dosing agent and energy, and adding to the carbon emissions produced by an industry that is already energy intensive.

For these reasons, it is vital to put measures in place both to detect the location and extent of any losses and explain why these losses are happening.

Measure at night for accurate loss assessment

The best data is gained from measurements taken when demand is at its lowest, specifically at night. These low flow rates demand a highly accurate flow meter. This is best achieved by electromagnetic flowmeters, which can offer an accuracy of as low as +/- 0.2%. Due to both their technical and economic advantages, electromagnetic flowmeters have become the standard flow measurement technology in the water industry over the last few years.

Two-way data gives real time view of flows

With rapid, instant access, water managers can use data to remotely monitor the device and network, diagnose problems and control their water networks in near real time. It can also offer the ability to extract performance data from the device itself, allowing parameter changes to be made remotely and ensure it always works as required.

In this way, maintenance teams can pre-empt major failures and prioritise work to use scarce resources and skills more efficiently.

Making use of 4G-LTE and NB-IoT networks, one of the latest offerings is the world’s first electromagnetic flowmeter with bidirectional connectivity, ABB’s AquaMaster4.

By using high speed, low-cost mobile data accessible via an internal SIM card connected to a mobile network, the flowmeter can be deployed virtually anywhere. Even when located hundreds of miles away from the flowmeter installation site, operators can read values from the device remotely, allowing them to manage the device and their operations wherever they are.

Website: abb.com