Title of presentation

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1 AMR, DMA, UBL, ILI, MIU, RTC When Acronyms Become Business Drivers Title of presentation, P.Eng., MBA Manager, Customer Services City of Ottawa, Canada

2 Ottawa s Water System Typical large North American utility customers 3200 km of watermain (incl. 600 km of private mains) water meters, all on touchpads

3 Ottawa s Water System 111,660 ML produced annually 93,163 ML billed annually 379 L/day per capita Cost of water: $.868 per cubic meter Cost of wastewater: 145% of water Annual average household water bill: $554 Water and Wastewater Revenue: M$ annually ILI of 4.0 (and going down)

4 Directions to Ottawa You are here

5 Ottawa Parliament Hill Rideau Canal Longest skating rink Tulip Festival City Hall

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7 Primary Business Drivers Cost Drivers NPV (20 years) Actual System For reference only, not sustainable 32.3 M$ New Touchpads Acceptable service level 74.6 M$ AMR Upscale service level 67.9 M$

8 Primary Business Drivers Cost Drivers NPV (20 years) Actual System For reference only, not sustainable 32.3 M$ New Touchpads Acceptable service level 74.6 M$ AMR Upscale service level 67.9 M$

9 Primary Business Drivers Cost Drivers NPV (20 years) Actual System For reference only, not sustainable 32.3 M$ New Touchpads Acceptable service level 74.6 M$ AMR Upscale service level 67.9 M$

10 Variation on the Same Theme 200,000 end points, $125/point Direct cost: $25M $25M for water billing data? Business Driver: What other value can we generate from this investment?

11 How to Justify the 25M$? Reduce meter reading cost Increase billing system efficiency Increase bill troubleshooting capability Create synergies with other aspects of the business Mostly intangible

12 The Usual Paradigm Smart Meters Better management of the Water System Support water conservation efforts Internal leak detection Compliance with conservation bylaws Demand side management Can we smart meter the supply management?

13 The New Paradigm Smart Meters Better management of the Water system Distribution system management Water Loss Control Leak Detection District Metered Areas How can we use customer meters for leak detection?

14 AMR and DMAs What is a District Metered Area? Zone Volume - Consumption Volume Leakage Simple concept!

15 Definition of DMA «Discrete area of a distribution system usually created by the closure of valves or complete disconnection of pipe work in which the quantity of water entering and leaving the area are metered» UK Water Authorities Association, 1980

16 Field Setup Why is it dark outside? Why are they doing this at night?

17 Field Setup Noticed the size of the meter? For 2,500 connections?

18 Night Work? Day (lpm) Night (lpm) Leakage Consumption Metered Flow Ratio 10% 200% Ratio of leakage to consumption is much greater: easier to identify leakage Zone meter can be much smaller, hence more accurate Zone metering during two hours, with a crew on site, avoids sizing the zone meter to deal with fire flows

19 Water Balance in the Zone Flow Zone Feed Leakage Zone Volume - Consumption Volume Leakage Consumption Time

20 Water Balance in the Zone Flow Zone Feed Leakage Recoverable Leakage UBL Internal Leakage Legitimate Consumption Un known Un known Un known Consumption Time

21 Unavoidable Background Leakage UBL Typically represents the minimum leakage that can realistically be detected with modern detection technologies Definition: Aggregation of source of leakage from all fittings on the distribution network that are individually too small to be detected

22 Consumption Consumption volume: Estimated with theoretical values Number of people X 0.6 L/hour/pers. or Number of properties X 1.7 L/hour/prop. Data is European, applicability in North America is questionable Internal leakage not taken into account No account for ICI or exceptional night use But we have meters!! All we need is to simultaneously read them all at 1AM and 3AM

23 Water Balance in the Zone Flow Recoverable Leakage Zone Feed Leakage Recoverable Leakage UBL Avoidable Leakage UBL Est. Cons. Consumption Internal Leakage Legitimate Consumption Time

24 Water Balance in the Zone Flow Zone Feed Recoverable Leakage Leakage UBL Internal Leakage Non-existent leakage Consumption Est. Cons. Legitimate Consumption Time

25 Why is This Important? Recoverable Leakage = Zone flow UBL Legit. Cons. Internal Leaks Metered Consumption Calculating the consumption too high means sending crews to find non-existent leaks Calculating the consumption too low means unnecessary leakage

26 Technical Specifications Two critical components: 1. Real-time clock (RTC) in the Meter Interface Unit (MIU), with a time-stamp at the read Beware of lag time between the read and the time-stamp 2. Programmable read times, capability to read simultaneously all meters, twice the same night Ottawa is doing it in drive-by mode This is the gateway to data heaven

27 Ottawa Results Zone Meter AMR System Leakage 55 GPM 42 GPM 13 GPM Calc UBL 9,77 GPM IWA Industry Standard 13,74 GPM Halifax Algorithm Leakage is within UBL boundaries! Don t waste money looking for leaks in that zone!!

28 Ottawa Results Zone Meter AMR System Leakage 55 GPM 42 GPM 13 GPM Calc UBL 9,77 GPM IWA Industry Standard 13,74 GPM Halifax Algorithm Leakage is within UBL boundaries! Don t waste money looking for leaks in that zone!!

29 Ottawa Results We did everything possible to find the missing GPM. This was a pilot project, don t do this at home. It makes no economic sense. We can t find the last 13 GPM This is the definition of UBL!! That zone s UBL is 13 GPM. The Halifax Algorithm seems to be valid for Ottawa. Pending more research This has a significant impact on our leak detection operations. Leakage is within UBL boundaries! Don t waste money looking for leaks in that zone!!

30 To Close the Loop We are looking for ways to generate value to offset a 25M$ capital investment. The investment must bring more than one read per month, must be more than a billing tool. Consider using AMR on the supply management side of the business, e.g. DMAs Technical requirements are simple: 1. Real time clock, with time-stamped reads at the MIU 2. Programmable read times, simultaneous reads, twice per night

31 Questions? For more information: