A new water management device that is said to have the potential to meet the challenges of water management in South Africa and across the world, has been launched.
The Internet of Things-enabled device allows service providers to remotely monitor and control water meters. It is said to be part of the next generation of utility system advance metering infrastructure solutions that have the potential to wirelessly transmit data to municipalities or water service provider databases and to receive commands remotely.
Its capabilities include:
- prepaid and post-paid water metering
- leak detection
- credit management
- flow limitation
The WMD Mk5 uses a secure communication network called Sigfox, which is managed in South Africa by Sqwidnet.
The network is said to enable greater meter interrogation, including retrieving meter readings, setting configuration parameters and loading prepaid tokens. It is also said to be relatively inexpensive and has low power requirements.
The device is said to last more than ten years in the field and has replaceable battery packs.
Utility Systems specialises in remote-communicating electronic water management devices and standard transfer specification prepayment devices. The company states that its smart water management system combines prepaid devices with flow limitation devices, to generate revenue while also preventing water losses.