AT&T, IBM and Mueller Water Products use IoT technology for water management

US telecommunications firm AT&T, technology company IBM and Mueller Water Products have collaborated to develop a solution which can help cities in water conservation.

The innovation features Internet of Things (IoT) technology which facilitates quick installations and can assist the cities in water management and prevention of leaks.

Trials for the solution have been conducted in Atlanta, Los Angeles and Las Vegas in the US.

It integrates Echologics sensors and sound technology from Mueller Water Products with AT&T’s LTE wireless network, thereby helping with detection of water pressure, temperature and leaks.

Water Management Center for IBM accumulates all sources of water data, offering an elaborate view of past, present and future performance.

AT&T Industrial IoT Solutions vice-president Mike Troiano said: “A typical water pipe leak wastes almost 400,000 gallons of water per year.

“Cities are facing water shortages all over the world and need help identifying issues early to help avoid a catastrophic event. We’re giving communities more visibility into their water supply, and helping them better manage the future operation of their water systems.”

The firms have joined forces to prove that IoT-based solutions can be used to address water issues.

This solution has been developed as a part of the Global City Teams Challenge organised by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and will be presented at NIST’s Tech Expo.

The solution is being used by Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD) in Nevada, US, which delivers water to over one million residents and around 40 million visitors in the city. It has over 4,000 miles of pipeline and a reservoir system having a storage capacity for up to 900 million gallons.

LVVWD engineering project manager Charles Scott said: “With this new permanent leak monitoring technology, we can now monitor the pipe for small, subsurface leaks, which gives us a better opportunity to fix them before they develop into larger leaks.

“This reduces our risk, and allows us to focus our maintenance efforts to targeted sections of pipe.”

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Image: Las Vegas Valley Water District has used the solution for leak monitoring and water conservation. Photo: courtesy of AT&T.