Itron signs contract with Malian Drinking Water Supply Management Company

Itron, a technology and services company dedicated to use of energy and water, has signed a contract with the Malian Drinking Water Supply Management Company (SOMAGEP-SA), a provider of water to 160,000 customers in Mali in Western Africa, to help the utility to improve its water supply, save water and, improve water access.

SOMAGEP-SA will make use of Itron’s residential and commercial & industrial (C&I) water metering automation and monitoring solutions, including software-as-a-service (SaaS) for analytics and metre data management, to bring down its non-revenue water levels.

Water scarcity is a major issue in Mali.

SOMAGEP-SA collaborated with Itron to begin tackling water losses on its water supply network and develop a programme to decrease non-revenue water.

The first implementation of Itron technology and services, a pilot project targeting a district metered area (DMA) in Bamako, La Cité du Niger, featured positive results.

SOMAGEP-SA was able to boost its network efficiency in the DMA by 14%, decreasing the amount of water lost every month by half.

This positive implementation initiated a new contract to deploy Itron solutions in another larger DMA, where nearly 60,000 metering points are managed.

With Itron’s water metering automation solution, SOMAGEP-SA can better account for water usage and restrict waste using detailed meter data to detect leaks, monitor system performance and improve water efficiency.

Further, with more accurate meters, the utility can better track water usage to ensure resources are being used efficiently.

By decreasing wasted water, SOMAGEP-SA has the potential to increase water access to more people.

SOMAGEP-SA will use mobile data collection for residential customers to streamline meter reading and improve operational efficiency. For its commercial customers, SOMAGEP-SA will use Itron’s WaterMind C&I water monitoring solution, to remotely monitor the daily consumption patterns of these customers and immediately detect events such as leaks, meter blockages, backflow, excessive consumption or significant pressure drop.

SOMAGEP-SA will also take benefit of Itron’s SaaS offering, which combines data into a single high-performance, secure repository that can be accessed anywhere using a web browser. The utility will see a simple, consistent interface with modules for customer support, billing, network management and analytics, workforce management and customer portal.

SOMAGEP-SA CEO Boubacar Kane said: "Mali is facing a fast growing urbanization and with it, a growing challenge to effectively distribute water in the capital city of Bamako. This is why SOMAGEP-SA turned to Itron to help us better manage the delivery and use of water resources.

"Ensuring that our water resources are used in the most efficient manner is critical to us and our customers. We know that Itron has the depth of experience and knowledge to help us meet our goal of saving water and improving water access."

Itron vice president of non-revenue water solutions Mathias Martin said:"At the core of Itron’s mission is the desire to help utilities increase access to clean drinking water around the world, which is why we are proud to work with SOMAGEP-SA to improve water access in Mali.

Itron’s water automation and monitoring solutions turn meter data into intelligence that will help SOMAGEP-SA eliminate waste due to leaks and protect precious water resources.

"Working with customers like SOMAGEP-SA brings us one step closer to creating a more resourceful world."