Greater Poitiers saves around 960,000 m³ of water over two years thanks to ON’connect™ metering
An urban community of 40 municipalities, Greater Poitiers has direct control of drinking water production and distribution for over 143,000 residents. Despite investments to renew stretches of the network and systematic campaigns to identify leaks, the local authority’s network efficiency stood at 78.1% in 2015, a disappointing result given its ambition of preserving water resources.
Our mission
Improving network efficiency to preserve water
Following network segmentation in 2010, the Greater Poitiers Water and Sanitation department issued a call for bids in late 2015. The Sewerin group won the contract to supply and install 600 acoustic leak sensors and preliminary locators, while SUEZ Smart Solutions was hired to deploy its ON’connect™ metering and AQUADVANCED® Water Networks solutions.
Our solution
Additional solutions put in place
The acoustic sensors, placed at regular intervals along the pipes, detect the constant, repetitive noises produced by water leaks. As soon as a leak is identified, the sensor records the information and transmits it using the ON’connect™ metering technology, which uses a long-range radio frequency of 169 MHz, particularly effective for connecting underground sensors.
The data transmitted every day to the AQUADVANCED® Water Networks software enables operators to monitor the status of the sensors and view the noise levels detected via an indicator map. Using this platform, the leak located in the network is identified visually and triggers an alert. The manager can then plan an intervention to refine the precise location of the leak and carry out a repair.
The data transmitted every day to the AQUADVANCED® Water Networks software enables operators to monitor the status of the sensors and view the noise levels detected via an indicator map. Using this platform, the leak located in the network is identified visually and triggers an alert. The manager can then plan an intervention to refine the precise location of the leak and carry out a repair.
Our results
A reduction in the volume of water pumped
The sensors were placed in sectors where the network was densest and segmentation had not produced any results. Over two years (2016 and 2017), while the volume distributed remained constant, water production fell by 10%, a saving on the volume pumped of around 960,000 m3. Most of this reduction took place during the first year (8%).
The improvement led to substantial savings on pumping costs while also protecting water resources, which proved particularly important and appreciable in 2017, a very dry year in which groundwater was not replenished.
The improvement led to substantial savings on pumping costs while also protecting water resources, which proved particularly important and appreciable in 2017, a very dry year in which groundwater was not replenished.
