Global IT major IBM will work with the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) for effective water management in the city.
The company will share its technology, IBM Intelligent Operations for Water (IOW), with BWSSB and implement a pilot project free of cost. The project will help in minimising unaccounted for water (UFW) by preventing leakages through real-time monitoring of water flow.
BWSSB additional chief engineer Narayana said, “IBM has entered into an agreement to implement a pilot project to showcase IOW, which is used in some smart cities across the globe. Besides helping BWSSB to monitor the flow of water, IOW will facilitate the regulation of water as required, which in turn helps in equitable distribution of water in different areas.”
Around 45 per cent of the water supplied by the BWSSB goes unaccounted and the BWSSB loses over `20 crore every month on account of this. Narayana said IBM has agreed to install the devices and software required to monitor the water flow in 284 of 784 bulk flow meters in the city and the project is likely to take off in another two months. After evaluating the benefits of implementing IOW, BWSSB will consider implementing it in other areas of the city.
How it Works
Global system for mobile communication (GSM) transmitters would be fitted to the ultrasonic bulk flow meters installed by the BWSSB in strategic locations in the city. Company officials explained that readings from the bulk flow meters would be relayed by the GSM transmitters to a mobile phone tower installed at one of the BWSSB offices. The GSM modem installed in the BWSSB office will receive the real-time data through the mobile phone tower and transmit it to a centralised server, which is connected to different offices monitoring the data. The water information hub that is part of IOW will also provide predictive and historical analysis, which will help track leakages and other types of transmission and distribution losses.