Using Analytics Technology to Help Conserve Water | WPN World People News

We're taught at an early age that three-quarters of the earth's surface is covered by water, but it's easy to forget that most of that water is full of salt and unfit for human consumption. That means that even in highly developed areas of highly developed countries, water is a precious resource. That's especially true in large area of the West and Southwest regions of the United States.

Using IBM advanced analytics, water loss is reduced by optimizing the setting of pressure reducing valves based on data from existing sensors as well as other sources.

Not only is water a scarce resource in some areas of the United States, but an aging infrastructure means that some of the water available to these communities isn't getting there. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) much of the 880,000 miles of water pipes in the United States have been in use for decades; some of it for more than 100 years. Old pipes mean leaky pipes, as anyone who's owned an older home knows, but on a larger scale like a municipal water distribution system, they really add up. The World Bank estimates that worldwide costs from leaks total $14 billion annually.

IBM Research scientists have an existing relationship with the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA), which supplies water to more than 600,000 people in the heart of Northern California’s wine country, and now they're collaborating on a new program that uses analytics technology to reduce water loss.

The new program helps Valley of the Moon Water District (VOMWD), which purchases wholesale water from SCWA, reduce water loss by optimizing the setting of the pressure-reducing valves at the entrance to VOMWD 's distribution network.

The valves are optimized using data from existing sensors as well as from billing, pressure gauges, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and flow loggers throughout the water system, which is actually even more complex than it sounds. A water system is comprised of pipes, valves, pumps, tanks and other equipment. If a well stops working, for example, some water tanks will not be filled. If pressure is increased to fill those tanks, other tanks may not be emptying as often as they should to maintain a proper exchange of water and maintain required water quality. If there is a leak, reducing the pressure to one pipe will reduce the amount of water lost through the pipe, but it also means that some consumers may not have enough pressure in their taps at home.

This tricky choreography of water distribution used to be manual, time-consuming process. Before working with IBM to introduce analytics into the equation, Valley of the Moon operations staff were continually monitoring the pressure of each valve and manually making adjustments to maintain optimal pressure across the system. The analytics now provide the engineers with detailed information for recommendations of optimal settings for each valve based on a holistic view of the entire system.

Source : Smarter Technology