Jun 9 2014
Mueller Co., North America's largest and only full-line supplier of potable water distribution products, has introduced a new remote pressure monitoring system for water distribution networks as part of its Intelligent Water Technology™ (IWT) portfolio of products and services that actively diagnose, monitor and control the delivery of safe, clean drinking water to consumers and businesses.
Mueller Co. is a subsidiary of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA), a leading North American manufacturer and marketer of products and services that are used in the transmission, distribution and measurement of water.
The sensor, typically installed one per district metering area or neighborhood, reports pressure data at customer-defined intervals via a low cost machine-to-machine cellular based service or a Mueller advanced metering infrastructure network. Information is collected and analyzed on a Mueller-hosted or a customer secured web server.
The new monitoring system is designed to be simple to install and operate. The pressure sensor is attached to the water system and plugged into a communication module. Users access a secure web portal and view their pressure data. The ESRI map interface can be viewed with any web browser and alerts are transmitted via SMS and/or email when the customers' settings for low- and high-pressure conditions are reached.
"Mueller's IWT portfolio delivers information that enables water authorities to make smart decisions concerning their existing water infrastructure and effectively plan for the future," said Greg Rogowski, president of Mueller Co. "Data-driven decisions can help water authorities reduce non-revenue water and optimize infrastructure investments from main to meter. The IWT portfolio also provides consumers and businesses water conservation tools to make smart decisions about their consumption."
Beginning with pressure monitoring, Mueller has created a communications backbone that utilities can integrate into existing SCADA systems or use as a stand-alone monitoring platform.
Pressure management in pipe networks is fundamental to providing safe drinking water. The loss of pressure can allow ground water to contaminate the distribution system. Fluctuations in pressure can affect the physical integrity of pipes. Surges in pressure can create additional leaks or main breaks and dramatically reduce the water infrastructure's life. Pressure management can also save utilities money since accurate pressure data may be used by systems operators to reduce energy, system maintenance costs, customer complaints and water quality problems.
Mueller's new remote pressure monitoring system is available through Mueller's extensive waterworks distribution system. Mueller sales representatives will introduce the system at the local level throughout the country.