Improving water monitoring efficiency with Entura’s automated water telemetry system
Client: Melbourne Water
Location: Victoria, Australia
Date: 2016 - ongoing
Developing an innovative automated water monitoring solution to improve transparency and accountability of water management systems
Background
Melbourne Water manages approximately 1,800 surface water diversion licences annually for water use from farm dams and waterways in the Yarra catchment, lower Maribyrnong River and minor western tributaries of Stony, Kororoit, Laverton and Skeleton creeks. The water is used mainly for agricultural, industrial, commercial, domestic and stock purposes.
Melbourne Water has conducted a non-urban water metering program since 1999. This has involved metering active licence holders with annual volumes greater than 5 ML per year, replacing meter assets when nearing their end of life, and, since 2013, investing in the remote telemetry network to provide real-time usage data.
Solution
Entura has been involved since 2016, developing and commissioning more than 300 remote logging and telemetry units that were fitted to water meters for Melbourne Water’s clients in the Yarra Valley region.
The units collect water meter data from licensees and transmit the data through a private radio network to a central gateway, linked to a web server via 4G connection. This information is validated and is available to local authorities through Entura’s Ajenti Data Management System (ADMS) so they can view their daily water use, total water use and water use against allocation in real-time.
Entura is currently working closely with Melbourne Water to deploy a new solution based on the Cellular Internet of Things (IoT), for sites where the performance of the private radio network is not ideal due to complex terrain and dense vegetation, such as in the Yarra Valley region. The IoT-based solution can provide a direct data link to the ADMS platform via Telstra’s NB-IoT network without the need for an independent gateway. Thus, each site can establish a direct link to the cloud without affecting the network connectivity of the other sites.
Services provided
- Real-time telemetry
- Automated water monitoring
- NB-IoT
Outcome
Implementation of the solution developed by Entura has enabled Melbourne Water to improve its proactive management of clients’ water, and to carry out accurate water consumption audits that will greatly assist with future infrastructure planning. The solution has also enabled Melbourne Water to improve transparency and accountability of water management systems and consistency of compliance and enforcement practices.
With improved seasonal water use data linked with water management plans, critical environmental flow rates and management of water during periods of restriction, our client has been able to drive greater efficiency and productivity of water use by licensees and better environmental management.
