ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE: San Francisco Implements AMI System for Leak Detection, Water Conservation
— Dec 01, 2009
Aclara, a leader in Intelligent Infrastructure technologies and part of the Utility Solutions Group of ESCO Technologies Inc, announced that the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) will begin citywide installation of the Aclara STAR Network system in early calendar 2010. The SFPUC, with 170,000 retail customer accounts, will be the first major California water utility to install Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) technology to track water consumption.
More than 100 cities have deployed the STAR Network system, including New York City, Boston, Kansas City and Washington, D.C., as well as smaller municipals such as Leesburg, Va., Ann Arbor, Mich., Beverly Hills, Calif., and Corpus Christi, Texas. The STAR Network system is configurable to meet the requirements of any size city, employing low-frequency radio signals to transmit meter readings on a schedule determined by the utility.
The new system will send hourly consumption data to the SFPUC four times daily. Currently, most residential water meters in San Francisco are read once every two months and commercial meters are read monthly, with meter readers required to individually visit and read each meter manually. This labor intensive and infrequent process makes it difficult to detect silent leaks, which can result in significant water loss and high water/sewer bills for customers.
Data from the STAR Network system will allow SFPUC staff to immediately flag surges in water consumption and detect possible leaks. Eventually, customers will be able to log on to their own accounts with the SFPUC to monitor their own water consumption habits and billing.
“With California facing long-term threats to our water supplies and natural resources from climate change and population growth, literally every drop of water counts,” said SFPUC General Manager Ed Harrington.
